


Look up at the stars (they are your reflection)

by katouis



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Rise of Kyoshi
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, F/F, I'm Not Ashamed, Multi, THATS A STAR WARS PLOT, but this is not about that, kyoshi and yun are rey and kylo ren is so obvious, not gonna lie the first time i saw kyoshis story i was like, this is for me actually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:01:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28237356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katouis/pseuds/katouis
Summary: A long time ago, in a Galaxy far, far away…As the next great master of the force is found, discontent, despair and lack of security begin to take over the corners of the galaxy. With the support of political leaders, Master Jianzhu guides the Jedi to keep peace, even though evil pursues even the best of them...
Relationships: Kyoshi/Rangi (Avatar)
Comments: 24
Kudos: 41





	1. The job

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a fanfic I write for me, don't be so critic, just viiiiiibe.

As naturally everything in life, being part of the Jedi Order had its good side and its bad side. The jedi had a great pride in the work they did trying to keep cities under control, but they also recognized the danger that came with the job. One day a Jedi could be doing the greater good, and the next one, there was a funeral in their honor. 

_ Rangi preferred to focus on the bright side. _

That was, of course, until Master Jianzhu had some work for her in the Earth Kingdom, especially if it was in the Outer Rim. Nobody ever knew what to expect from those places, where it was close to be governed by the law of the fittest, earning respect as a Jedi without being Master Jianzhu becoming... _a Russian roulette._

"A Jedi Knight requests the lord," the droid announced as soon as the metal doors slid open, revealing the spacious and elegant office of the man with whom it was her task to meet.

There were only a secretary and a couple of guards in the room, whose hands were relaxed at the height of their blasters. Rangi couldn’t imagine the situations that happened in that place to need all the security doors, and still find use in extra security. She didn't want to find out either.

"The lord was waiting for the Grand Master" the secretary said briefly, without taking her eyes off the screen in front of her. So were the Outer Rim people, rude and classless.

"I know" Rangi said calmly, "He apologizes, an issue came up and he..."

"Good," the lady interrupted, still not looking up, "Then, who are you?"

The Jedi knight clenched her jaw in disrespect, but she didn't change her calm tone, "Rangi, Jedi Knight Rangi of the Sei'naka clan” She waited in silence for the lady to type the information, “When may I speak to Lord Kiro?"

"When he wants it" the worker answered quickly, making it clear from her tone that she didn't want any more interruptions. 

In the reflection of her eyes, Rangi realized that the woman couldn’t even be bothered by doing her job correctly. But, well, that wasn't her problem, she only had one duty and apparently she had to wait to fulfill it. 

She looked around her again, at the practically motionless guards, and made her way to the soft red sofa where she remained for the next hour, thinking and analyzing. By the time her name was called from inside the office, she had already established that the man she was going to meet was just another irresponsible and surely rude person. In the Fire Nation, no one would have dared to leave a Jedi waiting, not even a Padawan.

"Ah, ah, ah, Miss Sei'naka" was the first thing she heard as soon as she walked through the door into the office. The place seemed to have all the smells found in a canteen, and Rangi couldn't help but wince as she breathed in, "Please take a seat, this is an honor, I've never met a Jedi with a last name, I thought you guys had no ties to this land."

The man, tall and with horns that gave the appearance of having been savagely cut, laughed at his own comment. Rangi was not the least bit amused, but to be honest she also had a biased opinion. History had been full of disputes of territories between Devourians of the Earth Kingdom—the species of Lord Kiro—, and small towns of the Fire Nation. If Grandmaster Jianzhu hadn't proposed a peace treaty, she wouldn't even be able to see his face without wanting to break it.

Rangi bowed without moving an inch from her place, "The Grand Master apologizes for his absence and said that he was looking forward to meeting you, but a sudden came up at Ba Sing Se's court and- "

"And that city matters more to him," the man sitting in the leather chair interrupted her,, "You Jedi are all the same, you want peace for everyone but when the time comes… you have your favorites"

The provocation in his words made her react immediately, "That has never been the case. Master Jianzhu's presence was paramount, while here I can replace him."

The devaronian smirked, noting the insignia on the armor, "Aren’t those big words for the Jedi Knights lieutenant? How old are you, child?"

"I am not child" Rangi replied, as bluntly as possible. She couldn't stand being called a child, even when she really was one, and she wasn't going to let herself be treated like that by a man with no manners.

Lord Kiro, whom she knew practically little or nothing about, raised his eyebrows in surprise and nodded slowly, as if the whole situation was comical to him, as if there was a joke that Rangi was not understanding, "Now, please, please, Lieutenant, take a seat. Or my honor will be offended "

That joke she did understand, but she preferred to shut up and sit down. That kind of thing—making fun of  _ honor _ —, was more common in this type of work than anyone could imagine. The less time she was debating with that man, the faster she could return to the Temple.

"Master Jianzhu didn’t give me further information but I understand that you, Mr. Kiro, have information on problems in the area," Rangi said, her hands in her lap.

"Oh, of course" The man nodded quickly, pursing his lips, and took a serious attitude for the first time, "This planet, Kiora, is a kind of… family planet. It belonged to my father and when he passed away, it got into my hands. You will understand my concern when I began to see attacks in these lands "

Rangi clenched her jaw slightly, "Attacks? Daofeis or rebels?"

The lord sighed, leaning over the table, "Daofeis, rebels, what's the difference? They both rob us and neither would hesitate to pull a trigger to keep the lands for them."

Hearing that man was like listening to her grandfather speak. Or in general, like listening to any of the leaders who made complaints about problems on their planets, so she had no option but to give in to the opinion.

From her hip belt she pulled her comlink out, "You can tell me every detail, I'll save it and present it to the masters council as soon as possible"

"No, no, no, you better take this," Lord Kiro shook his head and instead grabbed an datacard from the metal table, "Here is everything the Grandmaster needs to know about the problems of my land. Is your duty to take it safely into his hands "

Oh, another datacard. 

In the Jedi code hatred was forbidden, but if Rangi had had the chance, she would have shown how much she hated these kinds of jobs. She was no longer a simple soldier to carry little tokens of information. She taught new generations of Jedi, she commanded troops. Why couldn't someone else do that simple “bring me this” job? Was she the only one who knew how to fly a ship?

But she didn't let her thoughts get out of her mouth, so she just got up and stared at the datacard for a moment before taking it and putting it in one of her belt pockets, "Rest assured I'll deliver it as soon as possible."

The Lord smiled again, intertwining his fingers "I know you will"

Certain that her meeting with the strange man was over, she bowed again just as she had learned from her mother, and she returned to the waiting room to be guided by the droid to her ship.

“Well, isn’t this good?” she told herself buckling up.

Although intelligence delivery jobs weren't her favorite, they had a bright side too. She didn't have to share the ship with anyone, not even a droid. Just her, her white saber, and the galaxy. 

On good days, she would only have to travel far enough to charge her hyperdrive and be at the temple in practically the blink of an eye, perhaps she would even stop for a hot drink.

Today was clearly not one of those days.

She was not far from having left the planet when she began to feel ships crowd behind her. Pirates were not rare in the galaxy, especially in the Outer Rim, where rebellions, corrupt politicians and criminals go hand in hand in torment.

Rangi increased her speed a bit, analyzing the intentions of the ships monitoring her. It didn’t take her long to notice that her suspicions were being confirmed when they moved along with her.

"People, do you copy?" she asked quickly, watching the unidentified ships approach the scanner, "This is Lieutenant Rangi, at the Outer Rim."

"Here 0-2-2, what is the situation?"

She doesn't even get a chance to speak, staggering as she begins to feel the blasts on the sides of the ship. In a common situation where she has a troop to command, this would be as easy as waking up. But here is only her and a hyperdrive that isn’t hot enough to jump as far as she needs it to. 

"0-2-2? A droid? Where are my people?" Rangi grunts, grabbing the wheel and accelerating, maneuvering to escape the blows but not moving far enough to miss them completely, "You know what? Just take my coordinates, I need reinforcements right away, I don’t know if they are rebels or daofeis, but they are loaded"

One of the blasts hits the left wing, causing the ship to immediately flip over, leaving it facing them. Rangi doesn't even think about it, activating the cannons.

The protocol droid, still on the line, begins to worry about the alarm that comes on as soon as she starts to fire, "Lieutenant, you must get out of there immediately. Your ship is not powerful enough for combat"

The lasers manage to hit two of the enemy ships, causing them to begin to drift.

"Oh, so now a droid thinks I’m stupid?" She abandons the lasers and focuses on regaining control of the ship, circling her axis to avoid the hits, "I know I need to escape! But the hyperdrive is taking a hard time charging"

"Lieutenant, I feel obliged to notify Master Hei-Ran about the situation."

Rangi clings to the helm as receives a blast on the side of the ship, "No! Don't you dare tell my mother"

"But-"

The lieutenant curses herself as she feels more blows go a little too close to the ship, "You say something to the Master and you're going to wish they had never built you" Rangi threatens the droid, trying to deactivate the alarms before they take her patience, "Listen to me-"

Before she can continue giving instructions, the ship begins to shake from receiving a strong impact. Heck ... if only, if only she...

"No" she tells herself. On the verge of being vulnerable she could blame herself for everything she has done wrong, but she is sure that when she returns to the base her mother will let her know, so her only concern should be to try to get out alive. A retreat.

Rangi frowns, noting on the map the best escape route with her hyperdrive capability. The droid notes her silence as planning, "What are you doing, Lieutenant?"

Almost without believing it, she presses the button, "I’m going to the Wild Space"

★★★

Now, if she could have a second opinion on all the decisions in her life, she wouldn't even know how to criticize this one… but desperate situations, desperate measures. She had no choice. Back to Lord Kiro's fortress? He had defense, but why bring danger to the area knowing that they were the ones asking for help? Besides, getting off the ship would expose herself to any possible threat, if the Daofei had such good ships she didn't want to imagine their weapons.

"I'm going to wait for the hyperspeed to warm up again" She warns the droid as soon as the ship stabilizes in the dark space that is Wild Space, "Raava, what a fucking ship, I can’t believe that-”

Oh, for skies sake, today wasn’t her day. 

She growls, as she gets the ship at practically the highest speed, snaking to dodge the lightning bolts that the ships behind her start firing. If she thought she was an idiot before, now she definitely earned the title.

“What’s happening there?”

Rangi straightens her back, clinging to the seat to spin, “They followed me, that is. Shit. They followed me on hyperspeed, you know what that means?” 

The droid seems to cheer for a moment, "Oh, oh, I know, I know this one. They put a tracking device on you”

"If I can't be a Master with this..." the lieutenant purses her lips, debating whether to stop running away and fire the cannons or keep going until they are out of sight, "You know what? This would be a good time to alert the Fire Master"

"Excellent idea, I'm going to-"

Before the droid can finish speaking, the lasers from her pursuers hit different parts of the ship, causing the systems to lose connection and the momentarily loss of control.

Rangi touches the buttons randomly, hoping that one other than the alarms responds, "This can't be happening, no, _no_ "

With the other hand, she tries to continue guiding her escape from the daofei, but at this point it is only delaying the imminent. She doesn't have enough momentum to jump somewhere else, and even if she had it would be of no use. Without everything she needs to get back home, she opts for the most desperate measure. 

"0-2-2, do you copy?" she calls, turning the transmitter on and off, "0-2-2? I'm caught, I repeat, I’m caught. I need to go off here”

The sound of the laser breaking through the metal brings her back to her reality, and there is only one way out. Rangi fastens her belt, and uses the last momentum to get closer to an unidentified planet nearby, trying to maneuver to avoid the incessant attacks.

“This won’t be pretty” is all she says as she prepares to descend. 

_Six years old._ She was six years old the first time she managed a ship, and she had never faced that type of situation alone. The heat of the ship igniting on fire, the alarms going off again, the sound of the engine giving it all, the rudder starting to lock up and the buttons useless.

**She thought that it was going to be a hard landing, but now it was going to be a miracle if she got alive.**


	2. The jedi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The soul of Yokoya, the next Pai Sho legend, Yun, tries to survive from day to day. Everything can get complicated with the arrival of a strange visitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No beta read, we die like Jesa and Hark.

Auntie Mui had a strange habit of thanking avatars every night before falling asleep. He didn't really understand why, but he respected tradition and every night he gave thanks for his Pai Sho board.

"And... that's another victory ladies and gentlemen" Yun announced, smiling as a new round of applause began, "A good game, a good game, who wants to go next?"

Some among the crowd of foreigners and workers raised the credits they were willing to bet. It was clear, people wanted to play against the Yokoya prodigy. All of them were captivated by his play… All but the tall and strong creatures who were maliciously approaching the small shadow where Yun had planted his table. 

There were three of them, each adorned with a different facial scar, walking with the grace of a thief.

Right behind came their leader.

"You again, rat" the creature, small in height and foul-smelling, pulled the blaster out of his pocket, pointing it at the center of the crowd gathered at Pai Sho's table. Everyone around gasped and Yun couldn't help but keep smiling innocently.

"Mr. Kaga, finally! I was waiting for you, I-”

"Shut up, you cheater," the alien cut him off, loading the blaster. By that point people had already got on their ways. Nobody dared to mess with Kaga, "What do you think? That you can come here, make yourself the great genius of Pai Sho and then not pay me? Do you think I’m an idiot?"

If Yun knew anything about survival, it was that he should never say what he really thought. Oh, boy, where would they bury his body?

"Absolutely not, Mr. Kaga'' he lowered his head, pretending to be ashamed of himself, “But I need you to give me another payment term, please"

He had heard it from Auntie Mui, rich men loved to feel in control, to feel like they had the last word.

The alien sneered, "Me? Give a tricker another payment term?" It didn't take him long to realize that Yun wasn't joking, "I'm not like those stupid people who let you take their money at a silly game"

Yun sighed, shaking his head to brush back some unruly hair that fell from his eyes, "Mr. Kaga, are you good at Pai Sho?"

The scrap dealer straightened up, taken by surprise by the question, "Very."

"Oh that sounds great. I..." the young man looked up, meeting the dealer's eyes, "I'm an average player. I learned from myself. It's sad, I never had a teacher"

None of the men in front of him knew where he was headed with all his words, not at least until he said, "Would you mind, Mr. Kaga, teaching me in a game?"

No man who valued himself in Yokoya would deny a game of Pai Sho, much less when the man felt with the bigger hand, so Lord Kaga thought about it for a few seconds, debating between hearing rumors that no one ever won against the boy, or letting himself be carried away by his own ego.

Yun knew the answer, but he still rejoiced when the merchant removed his blaster and cloak, and sat down on the floor in front of him. Up close he was even uglier.

"I'll do it," the older man declared, taking the tiles aggressively. He stirred them up, and although Yun knew that the man had thrown the scale off balance, he received the tiles with a smile.

“Master, what if we make things more… interesting?" the young man suggested in a charming voice, like one who convinces a child to eat a spoonful of soup.

The merchant narrowed his eyes, "How is that?"

The orphan raised his eyebrows, "I don't know, but I suppose as a businessman, you know how to take risks right? Maybe we should..." Yun pretended to think about it for a moment, stroking his non-existent beard, "Bet my debt"

The tall menacing men looked at each other, not understanding how anyone could propose something this daring to one of the most feared men in the region. 

Mr. Kaga, on the other hand, took it as an opportunity to test his ego.

"Good" he mused for a few seconds, "If I win, you will owe me the triple to what you owe now"

"And if I win, my debt will be paid," Yun complemented, “And you can’t bother me anymore”

Kaga looked at him for a few moments before reaching out her hand. He might be a man with no manners, but he knew the laws of the street. Although clearly, he did not refrain from threatening him, "Boy, you will owe me so much that even your mother will work for me"

It was clear that the criminal wanted to enrage him, but Yun did not lose his calm, "If I lose, I will make sure she does"

The man gritted his teeth, placing the first tile on the board. In his mind, he was already thinking of all the ways he could extort money from the poor young man, how he would laugh at him on the way home because no one played with a businessman and won. 

However, Mr. Kaga failed to observe how his own ego led him into a trap. At least he didn't do it until twenty minutes later, when Yun placed the last piece on him, ending the game.

"And... that's another victory, gentlemen"

"That’s... that’s-" the old man frowned, dumbfounded.

He couldn't even take a moment to absorb it, because Yun quickly took the board and placed it in the small backpack on his back, "A pleasure to do business with you"

Usually, Yun would not forget his good manners and give the loser a handshake, but it was difficult when uh ...

"I want him dead!"

★★★

The only good thing about Yokoya was its sunsets.

All the inhabitants knew it, for there was nothing else to offer on this planet. Yun did not even understand how it was possible that they received so many tourists on a yearly basis, as there was a planet nearby where commerce and nightlife was wonderful. Or so he had heard.

Yun had never left Yokoya, at least not since he had arrived, and he couldn't remember when he had arrived. This planet, by day as hot as a stove and at night as cold as a refrigerator, was all he knew.

"Let Yun rot, ah?" he cursed the universe, kicking a dark rock that he encountered in his path.

He didn't hate Yokoya, but it was so hard not wanting to. What was the point? What did the universe gain by making a planet so precarious and not letting him get out of it?

"Hey hey," Aoma surprised him from behind, causing him to jump in shock, "why so thoughtful?"

He couldn't help but smile lopsidedly, "Nothing really important, I'm just hungry."

"If you want you can eat at my house, you know? My father loves you" the girl suggested,, gently taking his arm in an attempt to convince him, "Besides, today we will eat my mother's stew and I know you like it"

Yun's stomach couldn't contain himself as he tried to remember the appetizing taste of that food, but even so he refused. He couldn't afford it, "I'm sorry, Aoma, but I already have plans"

"With Kyoshi, I imagine?" the tone of displeasure in his friend's voice was swift. There was nothing worse than fights between women.

He shrugged, "You know how things are."

No. Aoma didn't know how things were, only how he said things. She, the daughter of a spice merchant, what was she to know how much fun it was to share a night with a slave?

Luckily, the girl did not ask any more questions and with a kiss on the cheek she said goodbye to him, letting Yun continue on his way in the city.

The central village was not much better than other nearby settlements, far from the most central point, but it was the most inhabited place on the entire planet. It was located in the middle of the desert valley, surrounded by great mountains without much vegetation. Up close, no one would believe that most people depended on agriculture.

"Good evening" some residents began to greet him when they saw him walking through the working-class neighborhood.

Many of them knew him not only from his mother, but it was not strange that many afternoons after returning from the settlement where his work was, he went to meet Kyoshi to talk and talk. Kyoshi, even though he only admitted it to his mother, was his best friend.

She lived on the outskirts of the walled city of Yokoya, as the outcast from society that she was, in a small house that he had seen her build piece by piece since she had left Aunt Mui’s house at age eleven. With the money Kyoshi collected from her job as a kitchen helper, she had laid the flooring, purchased wood for the walls and ceiling, and even fortified and adorned the place with pieces of junk ships.

"Kyoshi, open up, it's me" he impatiently knocked on the thick metal door, “I’m freezing”

From the place, he heard how the wood creaked under the weight of Kyoshi's footsteps. It didn't last long before the door creaked and he could see her with his index finger on her lips.

"Very nice to see you too, thank you" he said loud enough to provoke Kyoshi as he made his way into the house.

Kyoshi didn't bother, but he did go towards the room's ajay door to visualize the interior. When she was sure that nothing had happened, she turned to him, "I don't even know what's worse, that she didn't wake up with that or that she could have woken up"

He shrugged, approaching the half-open door as well. The room was not the greatest wonder, but it was enough for someone to live, or wait for death, like the woman lying on Kyoshi's bed.

"Nothing yet?" Yun turned to her, his heart filled with pity for her friend.

She shook her head, "No, and I don't know what else to do anymore. Aunt Mui said to wait, but waiting... is so hard."

He sighed, turning back to the living room, "You know, you've done what you could. If I were her I'd be eternally grateful for finding me, but-"

"Please don't make this more difficult" she interrupted him. Her tone was pleading, as if he had gotten into her deepest thoughts, "I know what you're going to say."

"And I hope you know that I am correct"

Yun knew it from her face, Kyoshi this time was not thinking of doing what he recommended. He had spent more than six years living with her and the rest of her adolescence being friends with her not to know it, and in a way that made him uncomfortable. Kyoshi never doubted his word, but that moral debate was bigger than the two of them.

"We should forget about all this for a moment" Kyoshi waved her hand in the air and headed to the makeshift kitchen spot, "Do you want some tea?"

"Of course, thank you”

He watched her every movement from his place, the way Kyoshi tried to be dedicated with the hot water so as not to burn herself. She had had too many such episodes.

"How was work today?" they sat together on the floor.

"Well, I can't ask for much more" she leaned against the wall, sipping her hot drink, "The crops are going to finish their grow and the next harvest will start soon, so difficult days are coming"

Yun nodded, staring at her face, gazing at her dark skin with freckles scattering like stars at night, "All in a day's work, I guess."

"Sometimes I wonder" Kyoshi started to ramble, avoiding his gaze, "If I wasn't tied to being a farmer, would I really enjoy doing it?"

They were silent for a minute. Neither of them knew the answer, nor could they make a guess. Kyoshi had never known another job in her life other than the fields, other than taking care of the food that was sold in Yokoya. She couldn't be a home keeper like Aunt Mui, nor a salesperson like Yun, much less a great Pai Sho player like him. She didn't even like Pai Sho.

"Forget it, tell me how today went for you"

"Pretty good" Yun sighed, taking a sip again. This time Kyoshi did look at him attentively, "I sold a few things and again I was lucky at Pai Sho"

"Again" she repeated teasingly, "At this point I am going to assume that the Pai Sho divinity rises and accompanies you every day, or that you are his human form"

"According to me I look quite divine, I don't know how you couldn't realize it before"

They both laughed lightly, feeling the other's body heat as the chill of the night seeped through the cracks in the wood. He liked moments like this, when they shared more than superficial words and he could feel all the love Kyoshi felt for him.

"Well, you have a point there" Kyoshi sighed, setting aside her cup, "I really don't know what I would do without you"

"Ah, I do know what I would do without you, actually. I could go home early or... even get a girlfriend"

She gave him a little nudge with her elbow, playing like they were kids. Now, to Yokoya society he was almost what anyone would want in a daughter's husband, he was handsome, educated, destined for success, someone with whom no one felt superior or inferior, but comfortable. And Kyoshi was an orphan, a slave forced to work in the sun, Yokoya's lowest job. Their dice had landed on opposite sides.

"No, no, I'm serious. The day you leave this planet the first thing I'll do is ask Aoma for her hand" Kyoshi wrinkled her nose, "Or better, when your roommate wakes up I'll ask her to spend the rest of her life with me "

That didn't make Kyoshi laugh as much as Yun thought. Suddenly the air turned serious, "I don't think that's a good idea"

"Oh come on, she's cute and so am I" He raised his eyebrows repeatedly, "Think about it, who wouldn't want to be with someone like me?"

"I don't think you could get out of it alive"

"And why would that be? Are you going to kill me?"

Kyoshi rolled her eyes and leaned her body down to check if there was any movement in the room before whispering, "I think she's a Jedi"

Immediately he felt a cold on his back. A Jedi. A Jedi in Yokoya. Even his own thoughts felt false.

"How do you know?"

Her friend sighed, looking back at her on the floor, "I... I was fixing her stuff and I found her lightsaber."

"She could have stolen it," Yun considered.

Since Yun was in Yokoya he had never known of a Jedi there, and Aunt Mui had her ears on the entire planet. It was a distant legend, that they were legions of people with a connection to the force capable of controlling their native element. He had dreamed of joining them thousands of times since he first bended rocks in his room. He had never told anyone, as he didn’t actually see any benefits from it. Could his powers give him power, could they make him rich?

"Could be" she shrugged. 

There is a moment of silence before Yun raises his voice again.

"May I see it?"

She thinks about it for a few seconds, but finally gives in to the request and gets up to look for the lightsaber in the room, leaving him alone in the living room for a moment before returning with a metal in hand.

Kyoshi sits in her place again and together they contemplate it.

"Switch it on"

Kyoshi looks at him a bit dubiously, but she quickly gathers confidence and presses the center button, revealing the white plasma. It is a majestic and ethereal sight, the feeling of power in the hands of a slave.

"I heard that it could cut someone in half" Yun says, for the first time that night speaking in such a low tone that her friend could hardly hear it if she weren't within an inch of him, "Kyoshi, that can cut anything, you could- "

"No" she turns it off, leaving the room dimly lit again, "This is hers, it's bad enough that i’m touching it"

Yun wants to debate it, tell her that with that she could even rise in social rank, tell her that she is better off than him keeping it, but she abstains from it. Sometimes he must let her make her own decisions and respect them.

"What a joke, the only time something interesting happens in Yokoya" he says when Kyoshi returns from leaving the object in the room, "And it's an accident. Or from the hand of a thief"

She sighs, "I hadn't thought about it, but if what you're saying is true and she's a thief. I don't know what I'll do."

"You shouldn't have to find out"

They both shared a momentary silence, him waiting for her to give in and she immersed in her own morals. It was not a lie, but the reality is stark. 

"You should go now"

Yun narrowed his eyes, "If you got angry just tell me"

"You know it's not that" Kyoshi got up from the ground and shook her clothes, "It's going to rain tonight and I don't want you to catch a cold on the way home"

Running his fingers through his hair, he nodded and set his cup on the table in the middle of the room. He didn't really want to leave, but it was true that the night screamed rain and his mother's house was further away than it should be.

With a kiss on the cheek they said goodbye at the door, but he didn't flinch to start walking without first saying, "Hey, I didn't tell you, but today I settled my account with Kaga playing a game of Pai Sho, how cool is that?"

Kyoshi smiled without showing his teeth, "Good that you are taking away problems"

"Yes" he nodded, turning to start his way, but not before adding, "And you should get rid of yours too"


	3. The meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyoshi spends time in her work, connecting her life, while at home a new dot awakes.

A complaint had never come out of her mouth.

Having worked for so many years on that farm, having cooked something different every day of the year to low paid workers, having to deal with inept cooks. Not a single complaint. It was almost a miracle.

"How do you do it, Aunt Mui?" asked the farmer who was extending his plate for the woman to place a portion of food on it, "I need the secret of your happiness"

The cook laughed in her characteristic way: deep and shortly, before motioning for him to move. Kyoshi smiled slightly, spreading her plate as well.

"The secret? This is the secret" Aunt Mui nodded at her, "Giving people something to eat, something to stay alive"

Kyoshi felt her cheeks burn as the other workers watched her. It was enough to feel their criticism, their wish that she would do something wrong to report it. Now, feeling their gazes of slight mockery was way worse than that.

"Go sit down" this time Aunt Mui referred to her only in the lowest, most neutral tone she found.

"Thank you"

She took the plate in her hands and walked through the passage that led to an area that the workers avoided, an area from which could be seen the desert that divided the city from the agricultural areas. An area that allowed to detail how rotten the planet was.

Being the least shady area of the fortress, there she felt much more sweaty from the sun, but it was worth it. After all, since finding the girl in the middle of the desert, it was her only moment alone. That was until Aunt Mui finished serving the food.

"There is no worse punishment than heat, right?"

The middle-aged woman stood next to her. They both looked at the few remaining plants that survived the summer.

"I can think of a few more," Kyoshi said without much grace before taking another bite of her food. It was delicious, as always.

"You haven't used the concealer I gave you" the woman changed the subject, taking a seat next to her, "Your face is full of those... stains"

Aunt Mui clicked his tongue,"Raava forbid to be known that I work"

"There you go again with that attitude, but you know I'm going to convince you. If I could get Yun to do it, you're a no brainer" Aunt Mui clicked her tongue.

She took a moment to wipe the sweat from her eyes. Aunt Mui had been insisting that she stay within Yokoya's beauty range for too many years not to realize that Kyoshi had never been able to even be considered.

"I miss when you were just a child, everything was easier with you" the older woman snorted, fixing her own hair, "All you wanted was to eat. It was easy to make you do things."

"So I became a slave" Kyoshi recalled, making the gray-haired woman realize the depth of that situation, "I sold myself for food"

Aunt Mui's mouth twisted and she regretted her words. Not because she had told lies, but because the truth was uncomfortable. She didn't have any resentment against Mui either, after all she had done what she could to help her. 

Besides, it wasn't much different than what the older woman had done.

It was a story that she had only heard once when she was little. She and Yun were sitting on the ground resting when Yun began to ask her about the dreams she had ever had.

"I wanted a lot to be a poet" Aunt Mui said without thinking twice, "When I was a teenager I only thought about poetry. Lyrics. Feelings"

"How boring" Yun frowned. Somehow his words did not sound rude or insulting, it was like someone who simply described the sky.

"Oh, you never get bored when there is poetry. It is a world of opportunities"

Kyoshi leaned on her elbows, the little stones in the wood burying into her dark skin.

"But you are a cook"

Yun also leaned forward, "Indeed. if you wanted to be a poet so much why are you a cook?"

There was a momentary silence from Yun's foster mother, as if she were collecting the words she said to herself day by day, "You will understand when you are grown up. Sometimes the greater good must be chosen."

Kyoshi sighed. This was her greatest good, having to sacrifice her freedom for daily food. Her greatest good was having to plow the land so she would not have to beg on the city streets. What a great deal.

"That 's life. Don’t we all sell ourselves for food?" Aunt Mui shrugged slightly before looking at her again, "How is the woman doing?"

Ah, the desert woman. For a moment Kyoshi had forgotten about her.

"I'm starting to believe that all this waiting is a basket case. This waking up every day and not knowing if she is still alive... is very hard for me"

She couldn't tell her everything Yun thought about it, much less tell her about the small detail of the comatose woman's social rank. Aunt Mui was going to explode with impatience if she was to find out about anything. Not letting her know was for the greater good.

"Kyoshi, you cannot demand that she live. You must let her resolve her existence. If it is to happen, what you can do is give her a worthy place to die and an appropriate company."

A decent place to die. How could an old wooden house, in the middle of a planet doomed to misery, be a decent place to die? How could she, a slave without parents or land, be a suitable company?

"I guess that's how it should be" she looked at her empty plate, "I'll have to wait"

★★★

The walk home was always quiet and long, as always under the intoxicating Yokoya sunsets, when the sun gave way to beautiful magical colors. In the open valley they were very easy to appreciate, for they were her only company.

It wasn't that she didn't prefer the short, paved road that all the workers took. She did, but the matter was more complicated than that. It was called Aoma, the daughter of a merchant.

"If you want my company to avoid her, you can tell me" Yun had once offered, knowing the intense annoyance that Aoma caused her.

It was a juicy proposition, as there was no one Aoma respected more than Yun. It was the little fire of her in hers eyes of her when she saw him that gave her away. However, Kyoshi didn't want to feel like a nuisance, like a burden.

It was better this way.

Besides, she preferred to enter the city through that deserted part, where no one asked anything, no one murmured because after all, most of the people in that area were slaves like her.

Kyoshi sighed unlocking the lock on her hearth. She was tired of the sun, of standing, of walking, of feeling the sand on her shoes. She just wanted to make dinner and go to bed. She was so immersed in her desires that she didn't bother to check the woman in her bed.

She placed the slice of bread while she heated water to drink, moving gently and silently. She had no problem with loneliness, in fact she might prefer it. But on days like this she also missed Yun's joy, his impatience with life.

When her food was ready, she took it in hand and headed for the room. It was dark and hot, but observing the woman lying on the bed she preferred not to turn on the light or complain about the temperature.

She could almost imagine Yun saying, "As if the dead noticed."

As she walked to the table in the room to set the plate, Kyoshi shook her head at the thought. No, the woman was not dead. She couldn't be, she had to stay alive ... she had to stay-

The wood creaked loudly as Kyoshi fell onto her back. 

It took only a second for the pain to spread through her body.

"Who are you?" growled a female voice, accompanied by the indisputable sound of a dagger slide, "What do you want from me?"

Kyoshi couldn't answer right away, her eyes closed as she felt the blood on her mouth. Just when she had turned to look at the woman on the bed, someone attacked her in surprise, pulling her robes and knocking her to the floor in a movement of her feet.

"Answer me, scum!" the woman demanded, and her voice sounded so close that Kyoshi couldn't help but gasp when she opened her eyes.

Now, there could be many options as to why she was astonished to see that woman: first, it was a stranger in her house who was attacking her, then there was the fact that the only distance between them was a dagger of the perfect size to to cross Kyoshi's throat in seconds, and it could also be added the fact that the woman did not look doubtful about using the weapon.

No. What astonished her was something far beyond that. 

It was something she couldn't explain.

"You're beautiful"

This time it was the “Jedi” who was confused, Kyoshi noticed it in her dark bronze eyes, if only for a few seconds. Then the woman regained her frown and drew the knife closer.

"Identify yourself" snapped the girl, this time her tone softer than before. It was then that Kyoshi's spell was broken and her concern washed over her.

"I-I'm Kyoshi"

"Kyoshi who?"

"Just Kyoshi"

"Well, just Kyoshi, now you want to tell me why I'm here?" the woman asked in a mock friendly tone, without hiding the threat, "Where are my things, my ship?"

Kyoshi swallowed hard, the skin on her throat millimeters from brushing against the dagger. This situation sounded more harmless when she talked with Aunt Mui about how to explain the crash.

"I-I, your ship is destroyed" was the first thing she came up with. The woman did not seem happy with that answer and Kyoshi's nerves grew. It wasn't that she bothered dying and less at the hands of a beautiful woman, but maybe her death could wait "Look, I- can we talk normal? Without having-"

"No way," the attacker replied, palpable vexation in her voice.

Kyoshi sighed, returning her eyes to the woman's. Of course she had noticed the beauty and innocence of her face when she was asleep, but without a doubt being awake gave her a... serious tone. Attacking but elegant. It was like seeing a tiger.

"I found you four days ago in the desert coming to my house. You were- You were almost dead in your ship, so I brought you here" as you released the word I saw how the woman believed her less, but if she was already going to be killed it was better to say it all, "I couldn't let you die in the desert"

"Do you work alone?" she pressed, not paying attention to the words Kyoshi had just said, "Who do you work for? Tell me, Daofeis, rebels, gangs?"

Kyoshi shook her head slightly, this time analyzing the woman’s facial wounds. Oh how beautiful she looked, even with the wound that ran from the middle of her forehead to her cheeks, piercing her eye, "I am a slave in the fields, I only harvest food."

This time the woman believed her even less, "That's impossible, slavery was forbidden by the Jedi years ago"

She couldn't help but smile slightly, "We don't get a lot of Jedi here, I don't think they care."

With that, the attacker's face softened, and after a few seconds in silence she got up from the ground although she was still pointing the dagger at her, indicating her to keep lying down.

"Where is my armor?"

"In the closet" she pointed to the cabinet just behind the woman, who turned her gaze.

"Don't you dare move, I can kill you in seconds"

"I wasn't planning that," Kyoshi admitted.

With her back turned and with just a tank top and red pants on, she was able to detail the muscular back of the woman moving while she dressed, putting on the blood-colored long-sleeved shirt before proceeding with the armor of black and yellow tones

It was wrong, oh sure it was wrong. Kyoshi could feel shame gracing her cheeks for violating the woman's privacy, but she couldn't apart her eyes either. She looked so slim, muscular, lithe, and yet so covered in what Aunt Mui had identified as tinged beskar.

It was the woman's annoying voice that snapped her out of her trance, "where's my belt?"

This time Kyoshi pointed at the cabinet next to the bed. The Jedi nodded and moved toward that part of the room. With the increased weight, the pain she felt when walking was much more evident.

"Your ankle is shattered" she blurted out of nowhere seeing the woman kneel in front of the furniture, "Aunt Mui told me"

"Aunt Mui" the woman repeated, pulling out the belt and weapon holsters that Kyoshi had removed from her legs the day he found her, "Is she a friend of yours? Who else knows I'm here?"

Kyoshi held her breath for a moment, "My friend Yun"

Yun, the man who thought that whoever was threatening to kill Kyoshi right now was a thief. One that even messed with the Jedi.

"Your friend Yun" repeated the _thief_ , this time as if simply analyzing the words out loud. As if she realized that something was wrong, as if she was living her worst nightmare, "Where is my lightsaber?"

Ah, the lightsaber.

It didn't take her more than a few seconds to get up pointing a blaster at Kyoshi "Where's my weapon? My Lightsaber?"

"I-I" she couldn't answer, and instinctively tried to sit up. In half a second the wood on the wall right next to her was pierced by a blast.

"Don't play with me" the woman threatened, reloading her weapon, " _Where's my fucking lightsaber?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe yeah that was some Princess Mononoke inspiration right there. It actually came from a fan art i saw a long time ago involving that scene and Rangshi, not sure who the creator is. 
> 
> Anyway, the movement Rangi does to take Kyoshi to the ground is the Tai Otoshi (judo movement).


	4. The Yokoya one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Rangi rises from the dead, she feels something in the force.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the end of the first part. If you made it here thank you for reading what comes to my mind he.

Even when she was not there, her perfume was still present in the house.

Rangi couldn't identify it, she had never known a smell like that. A strange mixture of flowers, flour and sand that became much clearer in her nostrils as she gained more consciousness.

It was the only thing she had noticed the first time she was able to return to the world for a few seconds. The smell appeared in her dreams and in every little moment in which she came back to life, like that time when she almost woke up while someone washed her face with hot water. She liked it, it felt so inviting, so naive.

It was the same scent that welcomed her as she regained consciousness, empapada en sudor y desorientada. 

"What happened?" was the only thing that came out of her immediately. She said it so softly that she doubted she had said it. She wasn't sure. She wasn't sure if she was even alive.

Her entire head spun, threatening to suddenly explode and stain every wooden plank in the room. It was an incomprehensible, agonizing pain. Her whole body begged for mercy.

"Fuck" she cursed herself when she tried to move slightly. Her back, immobilized for so long, and her wound on the side of her hip were not going to allow such an abrupt movement.

It was then, aware that she was real, that Rangi considered her situation. She was injured in a strange room and the last thing she remembered was being attacked in the air. Things were not idyllic. By her calculations she could be anywhere from a makeshift hospital to a prison.

"This can't be happening" she sighed again when she noticed that she was only in her white tank top and pants. There was no trace of her armor or her belt, "This can't-"

But it was happening, and she had to take quick action if she wanted to keep living. So, after evaluating if there was someone nearby and realizing that there was not, she tried to regain her mobility the rest of the afternoon. 

"Damn," Rangi complained between her lips, holding onto one of the walls. Her ankle was probably broken. And the cuts on her legs didn't help.

She sat back on the bed, exhaling her pain. She had to evaluate her options. If she was still alive it was because someone was interested in keeping her that way, so Rangi could cross "being killed by a Jedi hunter" off her list of probabilities. Alternatively, she had heard of a couple of times that rebels wished to take Jedi hostages. That sounded more like her situation.

Rangi had to wait for someone to get her answers. 

So she waited, immersed in that perfume, which she could never get used to. The more she analyzed it, the more details she found in it. Rangi waited until a soul appeared in the house. She waited, and waited.

"These people are going to let me die here" Rangi growled from the bed. She could just find her things and leave, but no. There wasn’t honor in escaping, she had to face her enemies.

Or, well. Enemy

It was only one woman, Rangi noticed from the small opening in the door. She looked tall, imposing, with a tender face. The same woman who washed her face once, the owner of the scent that claimed the room. Possibly a ruthless killer.

"What are you up to?" she whispered, not quite sure if she had done it out loud. Her sense of her world wasn't quite clear yet, but it didn't matter anyway because the woman didn't listen to her.

In plain sight, other than her height, the woman was the furthest thing from being threatening. The dim light from the kitchen illuminated her freckled face and the fabrics of her clothing were visibly laden with sand. Because of that and the small dimensions of the house, Rangi was able to determine that she was possibly only a healer. A healer who could work for the rebels.

"F-" the Jedi let her scream die by gritting her teeth and as fast as she could, she lay back on the bed once she heard the wood creak through the woman's footsteps.

What happened next was so... improvised

Of course she had a plan, she had gone over it all afternoon. She would analyze her enemies and, using her stealth, immobilize and interrogate them. This was clearly not how things turned out.

"Don't play with me" she threatened, reloading her weapon, "Where's my fucking lightsaber?"

The terror in the girl's eyes only fueled her aggressive stance further. Of course she couldn't shoot if she wasn't attacked first, that was against Jedi rule, but Rangi couldn't show herself weak. She was already at a disadvantage from her injury, being stranded in the middle of nowhere and the girl's height.

"You're on it," the girl stated, her voice still practically steady.

Rangi looked away for a second before realizing that it might just be a distraction, "Don't play with me, where is it?"

"No, I swear" the slave shook her head slightly, "Right under the wooden board where you stand"

The jedi thought about it for a moment, running her tongue over her dry lips. There were many scenarios running through her mind and in most of them she ended up hurt.

"You look for it" she decided, taking a couple of steps back still aiming at the girl, "Crawl here, but no funny movements"

Kyoshi, as she said her name was, nodded and moved to the place smoothly. The girl looked up at her for a moment, as if debating whether Rangi was worthy of receiving her lightsaber.

"What are you waiting for?" the soldier grew impatient, fearing for her own life for a second, "Pick it up"

The green-eyed girl neither short nor lazy complied with her orders, her long fingers uncovering the floor, revealing a small hole where rested a medium wooden chest and, of course, her lightsaber.

Before she could indicate the girl to roll it on the ground, Kyoshi lifted the lightsaber towards her in a position where if it was to be turned on, the slave was the one who would get hurt. Rangi hesitated for a second, but confident in the kind gesture she leaned forward.

"So, are you a Jedi?"

At last with her weapon of choice in her hands, she tucked the blaster into the holster on the side of her leg, "Knight. Jedi Knight."

"How is that?" the girl seemed genuinely interested.

"Are you always this questioning?" Rangi snorted, still not lighting her lightsaber, "I'm the one asking the questions here. So you tell me, where am I? What is this place?"

Kyoshi put the wooden planks back in her place, "You're in Yokoya and this is my house"

The Jedi frowned, "I've never heard of Yokoya" 

"Nobody, really" Kyoshi sighed, accommodating her weight in her hands, "It's not on the map, at least not for a Jedi"

"So it's a hideout from your friends, the Daofeis? Or maybe the rebels?"

The girl looked down at the wooden planks again, "No, it's more for the type of people who refuse to pay taxes to the kingdom, people who are looking for slaves, or maybe some good spare parts."

"My ship must be there” Rangi reasoned, more for her than for the green-eyed. After that, she took a few seconds in silence before returning to her attacking state, "Tell me, then, who do you work for?"

Kyoshi pursed her lips, "I don't work for anyone other than the owner of the fields."

Even though her sense of the force was clouded by her own emotions, Rangi managed to feel the honesty in the woman's words. She looked at Kyoshi for a few seconds, debating herself. At the end, the force was never wrong. 

"Why did you save me, then, if you don't gain anything from it?"

The girl's answer comes with the same honesty, "It was the right thing to do"

As much as Rangi tries, Kyoshi's words immediately weigh down on her body, forcing her to feel clouder than she already is. She was stupid, had made stupid decisions. Even though her hypothesis was pretty based, she had still been wrong and succumbed to fear. Fear of losing her own life. Fear of failing. 

The only way to get rid of that, according to Master Kelsang, was to transform it into a more positive feeling for herself and others. 

"Thank you" the Jedi bows her head, “I’m Rangi, Jedi Knight Rangi of the Sei'naka clan”

  
  


★★★

The breath of the desert passed through the windows of the humble house, drowning every corner without taking away the characteristic smell of Kyoshi, who ties her hair preparing to sleep.

After the situation gets a bit awkward, Rangi forces to fully focus on the dinner Kyoshi invites her to. She doesn’t really know why it is so uncomfortable, but is clearly more to her than to Kyoshi, who suggests she takes a bath.

"Are you hinting that I stink?" Rangi frowns.

"What? No, no" the slave raises her hands to her chest, "Just that-"

The Jedi waves her hand in the air in a gesture that makes her forget what she has said, getting up with all the patience and will that she has left. Immediately she grimaces from the pain. She has already pushed her ankle more than she should.

“There’s no hot water" Kyoshi warns behind her, "Maybe-"

Rangi doesn't let her finish, firebending a flame in the palm of her hand much to the girl's astonishment. It may be the first time Kyoshi has seen something like this, because she is speechless. She never tells anyone, but that is the best part of being a jedi. 

By the time she comes out of the bathroom, dressed again in her armor, the girl is already on the mat next to where she was in a coma. She looked so comfortable, so worldly. Rangi was sometimes envious of the peasants for that, what would be the price of such a monotonous life? How would it feel like not to heed any call for responsibility?

She couldn't find out.

"I need to go back to the Jedi Temple" Rangi declared aloud, drawing Kyoshi's attention. The girl's face changed almost immediately to one of surprise, "I need to fix my transmitter to call my masters."

Kyoshi stared at her brown sheets for a few seconds before looking back, "I know someone who can help you, but it won't be until tomorrow."

Rangi nodded, "Until tomorrow then"

"Rest" Kyoshi returned, not expecting another world. 

Rest, as in, you should go to sleep and forget momentarily how horrible this situation is. 

Although she knew it was the prudent thing to do, Rangi ignored her words. Her mind didn't feel at peace to just sweep it away and forget it. She was always so… impulsive, so her instinct called for her to spend the rest of the night and early morning in a corner of the room meditating.

Of course she was not the most enlightened or devoted to spirituality. She was far from being that, as far as she was from being a Master. But meditating calmed her mind and reconnected her to what it really meant to be Jedi: to be free of her own thoughts.

Furthermore, it allowed her to determine her surroundings. From where she was sitting, she felt the sadness navigate in the room like an old ghost, the passive presence of Kyoshi, felt the street full of pain and broken dreams. Resignation. The loss of something one once hoped for. Resignation was what abounded on that planet. Resignation and...

"A Jedi" Rangi gasped. 

Of course she could feel all Jedi, she could feel their connection to the force. She could feel her mother, her masters, other Jedi knights. But this presence... This presence was strong. Too much.

But it made no sense. There were no Jedi there, according to Kyoshi. And she seemed totally convinced.

"I think you were wrong" was the first thing she said to her in the morning when she felt Kyoshi wake up. She was standing in front of the window with her eyes closed, meditating, "There is a Jedi in this place."

The girl took a second, still coming out of her dream, "How?"

"I don't know" Rangi turned around, but she immediately looked away from Kyoshi. Daylight made it easy to recognize the girl's beauty. She felt the heat on her ears, "I felt a presence. Strong. Very strong."

"Here? In Yokoya?"

"Yes, not far from here," the knight steeled herself to look at her again, "I must tell the Council."

Kyoshi nodded, her gaze fading again, "Fine. I can take today off. I'll help you."

She waited for Kyoshi to get ready, feeling the power in Yokoya’s sun. After the girl was done they did not eat breakfast, contrary to what Rangi thought, but she did not protest. She understood. Her hostess was a slave, which meant that she would surely not get fair rations of food.

According to her mother, slavery was more common before her birth, before Master Jianzhu took over as the Grandmaster. She also read once in a Jedi history book that thanks to the collapse of that nefarious system the economy had managed to resurface and create new allies.

"Are you sure you can walk?" Kyoshi turned to see her as she opened the door, "I can help you if you want"

"No" the Jedi replied curtly, looking at the sand in the street, "I can do it"

At a relatively slow pace, they advanced down the street, which with each step lost more and more sand and became a paved road to the heart of the city. It was almost a nice view. People strolled the street calmly, some with bags of food and others advertising their products to passersby. It was not an abnormal sight in a Wild Space settlement, but Rangi was used to the silence of the temple, the respect of Caldera, and the elegance of the Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se.

"Who are we looking for?" Rangi blurted out out of nowhere, trying to distract herself from intervening in a fight between a vendor and an old man. She was a jedi, yes, but she knew her limits. 

Kyoshi did not take her eyes off the road, "A friend. He’s a mechanic and can help you with your transmitter. His name is Yun"

Yun. 

Well, at this point she would accept help from almost anyone. 

At a considerable distance Rangi allowed herself to be guided by Kyoshi among the people, snaking between men going to work, children playing chase and women scolding them. She for a moment wondered if they imagined that there was much more life outside of that desert planet, of its four walls. 

They kept walking until they found themselves in an area with even more vendors. Raava, if there were so many people selling who was the one buying? 

"I don’t know, give me a moment" said the man who received them in a small store which slogan proposed finding a solution to technological problems, “He must be… Yun! Kyoshi is looking for you!”

"I'm coming, I'm coming" someone replied to the salesman from inside, the voice getting clearer as the guy went closer to the front of the store.

By the time he showed himself, Rangi was petrified. As she had seen a ghost. As she had seen a ghost. Of course the boy had an easy smile and warm eyes that twinkled with mischief, but more important than that,

"You are the one" the jedi knight gasped. 


	5. The lost Knight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back in the Jedi Temple, The Grandmaster is met by a mistake in his plans... not knowing what that could lead him to find.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This wasn't supposed to be long, but I dont know really
> 
> WARNING: Is mainly a Hei-Ran, Jianzhu, Kelsang chapter. Just trying character dynamics and introducing my favorite side-one.

There are fates worse than death.

Jianzhu knew some of them, he himself had witnessed some. You could become a slave, be reduced to a body with only eyes, perhaps be a prisoner of the King of the Earth Kingdom, even owe Beifong a favor. None of them compared to losing Hei-Ran's daughter.

"Four days, Jianzhu" the woman took a deep breath, closing her eyes momentarily. That didn't mean anything good. The atmosphere felt like the second before a grenade exploded and destroyed everything around her, "Four days and you haven't found her. You said you'd find her, Jianzhu, where's Officer Sei'naka?"

He, always as peaceful as everyone portrayed him, "I said I would look where to find her. it's something different to finding her”

Kelsang shifted his gaze between them, trying to stay as neutral as possible. Between an unhappy Hei-Ran and a Jianzhu dealing with a situation out of his hands, there was no escape but an argument. Or a severed head.

"You  _ ‘look’ _ where to find a book, a painting maybe, but not a Jedi!" The Fire Master chided him, waving her hand in the air, "You didn't even get her coordinates?"

"I already explained it to you, the droid did not belong to the station, he just took the emergency contact. There is no way he could have asked for coordinates" Jianzhu intertwined his fingers, "We are working with the ones from before her jump, I have people searching close to her job at Kiora "

Hei-Ran gave a dry laugh, staring at the ceiling of the council room as if trying to restrain herself from slapping the Grandmaster. Kelsang even felt bad for not saying anything.

"You and your stupid scavenger hunts with Rangi. Why her? There are thousands of Jedi Knights in the galaxy, hundreds of Padawans ready for any task! Agni, Rangi is ready for anything, she is an elite soldier, a prodigy! and you put her to fetch your things "

Jianzhu doesn't take his eyes off the woman, his countenance blank, "These are special missions, Hei-Ran, I can't give this task to just anyone. She doesn't bring toys, she brings sensitive data. Data that compromises us, compromises the senate, that compromises the citizens. And you say it yourself, she is an elite soldier, nothing bad should be happening to her"

The woman closes her eyes again. Both men thank the Jedi who had taught Hei-Ran to keep her emotions at bay. If she wasn’t a jedi, in another place, she wouldn’t have hesitated to burn their eyelashes.

"One day. One day I give you for the knight to be back in this Temple. If not..." Hei-Ran drew the gaze between the two men, "We will issue the disappearance statement"

That was a threat. A very strong and very real one, acting like a slap in both masters as the firebender leaves the room. Jianzhu almost felt sorry for anyone who came across her.

"Is it me or she’s in panic?" Jianzhu questions, not taking his eyes off the door where Hei-Ran had exited.

"Well," Kelsang adjusts his robe, turning to see the Grandmaster's profile, "You can't blame her, Junsik's memories must be haunting her. She’s scared that Rangi suffers the same destiny. That happens to even the best of us."

"Fear is not the Jedi way" Jianzhu clicks his tongue, "She is worrying about the future, dwelling in the past. Thinking more than she should."

"Her husband is dead and now her daughter feels in the force as light as a feather, Jianzhu. Those are tests that she must face, well you know"

Kelsang sometimes wonders if the Jianzhu who sits in that chair making decisions is the same Jianzhu he has known from a young age, the same one whose fears he, Kuruk and Hei-Ran knew like the back of their hands. But many years have passed since they four were together, so he can't tell the difference anymore.

"She was not grieved at Junsik's death. There was not an ounce of sadness, not even anger at his murderers. Nothing. For me it was success, you know? The first time a Jedi forms a family, a form of attachment. And it didn't affect her emotions."

The airbender sighs, remembering those days. He could still feel it in his mouth, the taste of waiting for Hei-Ran's next action after receiving such news, "It’s Rangii. Rangi is the last thing she has of Junsik, the only trace of her family. It's tough right now, but we know that she can handle this and more. Even Kuruk knew that well for it to be one of his last wise mandates. 

"The only one, I would say" Jianzhu mouthed, "And we were the ones who made the decision. Not him."

Kelsang remained silent for a moment, not wanting to add or deny anything in the conversation. Kuruk had had his mistakes, yes, but Jianzhu shouldn't be so rude to him either. 

Suddenly, curiosity got to him.

"What information was Rangi bringing anyway?"

Jianzhu, who was looking at him, turned his head towards the door again, "One that was crucial for Beifong. You know, the common problems."

"Political problems" Kelsang replied to himself immediately. It made sense for using intermediaries to carry the information, the rebels could interfere with communications even if everything was encrypted. They would do anything to get ahead, like someone he knew, "Then why didn't he send his men if he required it?"

Jianzhu moved his fingers smoothly, "I told the chancellor that he could trust us all of this types of works”

“In exchange of what?” Kelsang lifted an eyebrow, “We don’t do politics, we don’t do works for politicians. What do we gain from it to put a Knight at risk?”

There was a momentary silence in the room, like the silence after knocking a chest open. The grandmaster replied, “I’m positive that the chancellor can help us find the chosen one. He has connections we don’t. Besides, at the end, this is a matter of a security and peace nature. I don't know if you know, but that's what we do."

He decided to avoid the stiff-toned words, not wanting to ignore his own thoughts, "If Rangi dies, she will have died for an arrangement with a political cause. That's not what we do."

It is almost a personal attack for the grandmaster, who still does not show it physically, "I do not understand how you wanted to lead monks if you do not believe in the power of politics, Master Kelsang. Political favors move the world and therefore also interests the Jedi. On the brink of a war, you should get used to it."

Kelsang stared at him for a second, trying to feel if his feelings went beyond the simple neutrality he could sense in him. Nothing. He took a deep breath before getting up from his chair.

"If that girl dies, it will be her blood on-” your hands, “politics”

They both looked at each other intensely, internally struggling to forget the other's words. Kelsang knew all of Jianzhu's dirty games, but he preferred to ignore them. Sometimes it became very difficult.

The airbender master was the first to turn his gaze, heading toward the door through which Hei-Ran had just left. It was not expected that just when he opened it he would find a Twi'lek too immersed in her tablet to look straight ahead.

"Wow, wow" Kelsang jumped when she slammed into his chest, "Why so fast, grasshopper?"

The girl immediately reddened before stammering, "Oh, Master Kelsang, sorry, sorry, sorry. I was very busy watching this because Grandmaster Jianzhu requested it with extreme urgency and-"

He held her arms quickly in an attempt to reassure her, "Hey, take it easy. Look at me. There's nothing wrong, okay? There's nothing wrong."

"What do you bring there, Padawan Luzhen?" Jianzhu's voice leaked through the ajar door behind Kelsang. The airbender released the soon-to-be-Jedi and returned to open the door further.

"Master, we received a transmission from Rangi Sei'naka" the Padawan showed the tablet screen, proposing to turn on the hologram, "She left her coordinates"

If Jianzhu had the ability to smile, he would have. From ear to ear, "Well, where is she?"

"On a planet in Wild Space. Yokoya"

Yokoya. It sounded familiar to him, "Good. Please get my ship ready. Kelsang, you'll come with me."

★★★

Yokoya above looked like a planet as poor as any other in Wild Space. They had nothing interesting. They lacked a good open trading platform for expedition members, and although water was not lacking on the planet, its soil was so infertile that Jianzhu couldn't help wondering what sins those who lived there must be paying.

The voice of Kelsang's Padawan rang out from the huge ship of distinctive green as they descended.

"Master, look at this" the young man placed his hand on the window of the ship. If he had been in his nature, the young man would have felt sorry for that landscape, "How can places like this exist? Why can't we do anything to help them?"

There was a short silence from the master as he collected Jianzhu's gaze. Both had different opinions of the young man, who was bordering on the beginning of his youth. For the grandmaster, having someone as passive and thoughtful as him was a nuisance as he did not believe him capable of following orders. Kelsang, on the other hand, saw the selfless side of him. Any monk who joined the ranks of the Jedi had to renounce a vital part of his beliefs, and although most ended up giving up their training, the Padawan had managed to balance it for the good of the galaxy. He understood the concept of a better world, he knew that sometimes you would have to get your hands dirty.

"Look at the big picture, Jinpa" Kelsang approached, his arms crossed behind his back as the ground grew closer and closer, "Like here, there are so many more planets. So many that it is impossible to count. Isn't it better to save for a new boat, instead of covering the thousands of little holes? "

Jinpa turned to look at him with a frown, showing more frustration than confusion, "And just watch how people suffer?"

"Padawan, as long as you are doing something for a better world, you must let go of your worries. You cannot be in hundreds of places at once."

Before the monk could add anything, the sound of the ship's supports coming into contact with the packed sand interrupted the conversation. Jianzhu got up from his seat with resignation.

"Come on" he led the two men and the droid carrying the exact coordinates, "We don't have time to waste"

They went down the ramp surprised by the heat and humidity that counteracted the cold of the ship, and walked through the desert that separated them from the walled city, where they soon found hundreds of different species walking from one side to another.

"Yokoya doesn't have much to lose," Jianzhu said to his two companions, his hand lazily resting on the lightsaber strap, "They live off illegal transfers, money laundering and slavery."

Jinpa, who had looked at the road concentrated before, was terrified at the words, "If you know all that, why don't you do something?"

Kelsang hesitated for a second, "Organized crime is as elusive as darkness. You can finish it for a moment, but as soon as you leave, everything starts again."

With the Padawan resigned, they continued walking in silence toward the gate in the wall, sinuous but solid. The central market was a much bigger mess, vendors shouting their prices to convince passersby.

"Stop there" a group of aliens interrupted their path. Being in a group gave them such status as to stand in front of Jianzhu's face, but if there had been only one, the story would have been very different, "We know a man of law when we see one"

Jianzhu looked at them disdainfully, up and down. Kelsang and Jinpa held a passive position, "I don't want to be forced to get you out of the way. Please let us continue and I will forget this inconvenience."

Some of the men laughed at his words, but the leader was offended, "How dare you come and talk to me like that at my home?"

Not wanting to hear a single word more, the man sheathed his lightsaber and in front of the expectant gaze of the undesirable audience, he turned it on. It did not take more than that green light for the bullies to understand the seriousness of the threat.

"Go away," he muttered, practically at the time the aliens ran for their lives.

"We will not forget this, we will not" threatened the leader, fear releasing in every one of his pores.

And even so, they continued walking alongside the droid, who was enthusiastically warning of the proximity of the place, happy to feel useful. By the time he announced their arrival, they were standing in front of a low-budget store. A mechanic shop.

"Good afternoon" the man in charge of the store smiled when he saw them. Jianzhu had to admit, he respected vendors capable of pretending so much interest, "How can I help you?"

"I'm looking for a girl, black hair, probably armor. Her coordinates brought me here, have you seen her?"

"Ah yes" the man cleared his throat before turning around and yelling, "Yun! Come here!"

Jinpa looked at Kelsang, who shrugged. How could he understand the way things worked on this planet so destined for failure. 

From the back of the room, a boy came jogging.

Jianzhu fixed his eyes on him as soon as he managed to see him.

"They come looking for Rangi, right?" the boy, with such a mischievous smile, asked, "Follow me, please"

The three men walked after him in silence, feeling the excitement in the boy as clear as the vergence in the force. Anyone with enough knowledge of the force could tell, the boy didn't feel natural.

Not even in Jianzhu did the force feel like this.

Jinpa looked up at his master, but with the block he placed on his feelings, the young Padawan could only imagine what he was thinking. A force sensitive who was never identified.

The boy, having no idea of the men's thoughts, knocked on the wooden door calling the name of the one who was surely the owner, Kyoshi.

"Kyoshi! Kyoshi! Kyo-"

"Enough," she scolded him as soon as she yanked the door open. The shame was not long in coming when she saw the other three men behind her. Her face, dark and freckled, seemed to blush, "Y-You must be the Jedi."

"Indeed, we are" Jianzhu nodded diplomatically, "We came for Jedi Knight Rangi"

"Oh sure, she-"

Before she could finish her explanation, a very hurt Rangi limped out of the room. Everyone noticed her aura of relief when they saw her, even if she seemed to have passed her face through a garden of thorns.

"Masters" she bowed respectfully, "Padawan Jinpa"

"Sure you had a long way," Kelsang said, almost casually. She was the daughter of her best friend, he had seen her grow up in the Temple and become the girl she was now. He could treat her like this, "How did you even end up here?"

Rangi looked at Kyoshi for a moment before turning her gaze to her masters, "They followed me. Rebels, daofeis, I don't know. I ended up crashing here. Kyoshi saved me" She swallowed and looked at Yun, "But if I must say it, I don't feel that this was a coincidence "

Jianzhu looked at the boy as well, Kelsang instead looked at the tall teenager in front of him.. In her he did not feel a link with the force, not even the weakest, but he felt something in her. Something else. 

"You are a force user" Jianzhu's voice echoed through the house. It was not a question, it was a statement. The boy stared blankly at him for a few seconds, surprised by the accusation, before nodding, "How long have you known?"

Kyoshi, even at that point, couldn't believe it.

"Since ever"

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen" he answered solemnly.

Jianzhu surveyed him for a few seconds, her thoughts of him running as fast as a thirsty horse. The boy was graceful and with him had an aura of mischief and seriousness, just like Kuruk. He was a walking riddle, with a lot of power at his hands.

Wildly, the grandmaster offered, "Do you want to come with us? To the Jedi Temple."

That surprised everyone in the room with any knowledge of Jedi regulations. Jinpa stared at Kelsang with eyes so wide that the airbender master felt an obligation to enforce the code.

"Jianzhu, you can't-" his voice dropped when the man turned to look at him.

"This, clearly, is a special case" he remarked the words, as if he felt doubted in authority. He turned back to the boy, whose emotion did not fit in a single house, "Being a Jedi is difficult, it is a hard life, but if you want and the rest of the council accepts you, you can train to become one. I can be your master"

Rangi gasped at the promises his grandmaster was making. No child, since she was born, had been given such a juicy opportunity as that. Sure Jedis learned things from him, but being strictly educated by the man with the Jedi Order in his hands?

Yun looked at everyone in the room. One by one. Nothing tied him to Yokoya, not even Aunt Mui. Not even Kyoshi. 

"Is this a joke?" was the only thing Yun could say at the proposal that would change his life.


	6. The orphan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kelsang comes back to Yokoya

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a reallllly short one before the time jump. I took a few days to update because I have been reading and sleeping a lot so heh no time left to think.

Kyoshi thought that she would never see Yun again.

That seemed so clear and unspoken that neither of them offered a word of hope when they said goodbye. Both of them understood the facts. Just as Kyoshi had once come from the hand of unknown people, Yun had to leave with people that everyone talked about but no one recognized.

On the other hand, Aunt Mui refused to admit it even as she watched the spaceship go through the skies, "My boy is coming back soon, I know. Those people don't know anything about stews."

She felt sorry for that woman, a feeling usually foreign to Kyoshi. But she couldn't help it. Even with the years showing, the sadness in Aunt Mui didn't look much different than hers at age five, after being dumped in Yokoya. Deep down, Kyoshi felt that it was Mui's right for someone to tell her the truth. A truth that was simple to say, but hard to bear. 

"People who leave don’t return"

It was her truth, she knew it first hand. Nobody ever looked back to Yokoya, not even for their loved ones. Kyoshi would never consider that someone would take her as a valuable memory, that she would be worth enough to look back on.

Until she saw Kelsang at her door.

"Kyoshi, right?" the jedi asked in an almost curious tone, as if he asked permission to be recognized again, as if he feared he would not be well received.

The imposing presence of the man rendered Kyoshi speechless for a moment. It was one thing to have such an important man at her house to pick someone up, it was another to receive him as a visitor.

"Eh" she went blank for a moment before moving to make room for his entrance, "Yes, yes, it's me. Come in please."

The man nodded, smiling slightly, his orange robes inches from brushing the floor Kyoshi had worked so hard for. She had heard Rangi and Yun speaking so wonderfully about the Jedi that she couldn't help but feel ashamed.

"This is a beautiful house that you have here" he complimented her, looking without judging the small living room, the open kitchen and the doors that led to other rooms.

Kyoshi just froze in place, wishing someone would tell her how to react. Feeling her distress, the Jedi turned back to face her, "On my way here I realized we didn't actually introduce ourselves properly, but I guess the situation didn't allow it” the man offered his hand, big and powerful, “I'm Kelsang, from the Southern Air Temple"

"Kyoshi" she shook hands with him, feeling how soft they were compared to hers. Every second that man spent in her house was another second in which she wanted to disappear. Fly with the wind, "It's an honor to meet you"

Kelsang shook his head slightly, "No, no. The honor is mine. Anyone who has the courage and kind heart to save someone without expecting anything ... you don't see that every day anymore."

The girl couldn't help but blush a little, lowering her gaze. She never in her life would have imagined hearing those words from someone with such importance in the universe, "Can I offer you something? Water? Bread?"

"Water please"

Kyoshi nodded, pointing to the ground, "You can take a seat wherever you like"

Without complaint, Kelsang took a seat against the wall to lean his back against her. The wood was not the finest like in Jianzhu's old house, but it got the job done. By the time Kyoshi returned, his throat did nothing but thank the water.

"How is she?"

He positioned the glass next to him, wiping his lips and mustache with the sleeve of his robe, "She's fine, you did a perfect job keeping her alive, seriously. When she's fully healthy again, she'll get a achievement for helping find Yun "

Kyoshi's little heart sank upon hearing the name of who was her best friend, the other piece of her soul. Her pain seemed to be so evident on her face that Kelsang regretted mentioning his name.

"He's fine too" he added, seeking to reassure her, "In the Temple he found a new home and although he has a lot to learn, he has a great future ahead of him."

"Yeah" Kyoshi sighed, looking at her own cup of water, "This was all what he wanted"

"It's more than that, it was what he's called for. His fate. You don't know how long we've been looking for him. It was no coincidence that Rangi crashed in Yokoya, if she hadn't, we would never have found who will save the universe."

It was at that moment that Kyoshi knew that she didn't really understand the situation. Yes, Yun had the powers that the Jedi boasted of, but she did not understand what was the reason for so much excitement for him.

"Save the universe?" her jaw dropped slightly, "Yun?"

Kelsang looked Kyoshi straight in the eye. His eyes were green, darker than Yun's, and they were surrounded by freckles. There was no malice in her, a little girl on such a miserable planet.

He sighed, "We think- Well, we're not supposed to give an official statement yet, but everything indicates that he might be the chosen one."

"The chosen one?"

The master moved his gaze around the room, thinking his words, "The chosen one of a prophecy, Kyoshi" Kelsang looked at his hands, being the last thing Kuruk held, "You see, every so often a being is born with the greatest sensitivity to force. He trains as a Jedi and in the end, when they are ready, they guide the destiny of the Order. It is a cycle that has been going on for thousands of years. "

Kyoshi blinks, "And what does Yun have to do with that?"

"The prophecy focuses on one of them, the one who must have been born seventeen years ago in one of the regions of the Earth Kingdom. His power was said to be... never seen before"

Kyoshi frowned, more in surprise than confusion. What must it have been like for Yun, if he had been the chosen one, to have grown up without knowing what he was? Without knowing that there was something stronger calling him? Yun, who was known on the streets of Yokoya as a con man but still shook hands and invited him to family gatherings. Yun, who was with her for so many years.

"And why him?"

Kelsang took a deep breath, as confused as she was, "It's a bigger question than us, what we call the will of the force. No one ever knows why those people, but there's practically no doubt that he's the one. He's the age, the precedence, and his connection to the force has never been seen before by any of us. We know it by his emotions, everything he feels is a disturbance in the force"

"Is that bad?"

Taking a sip of his water, the Master was slow to reply, "I would like to say no, but yes. The optimal thing for a Jedi is to have his emotions under control, to remain neutral. Yun feels a lot, so it will be a long way."

A blanket of silence was placed over them as a moment of respect for the memory of what was the Makapu boy who had one day ended up in Yokoya. Kelsang, dusting nonexistent dust from his robes, was the one to blame for breaking that memorial.

"But that's not why I'm here, Kyoshi. Not Yun, Not Rangi, not the Jedi"

"Then why?"

He paused, "For you"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of my favorite views of Kyoshi's character in the books is how she would be happy if Yun was the avatar, and even when she isn't that 100%-trusting-avatar-fan like Rangi, she would hate to feel like she was holding him back. Star Wars is an universe where fears are what make you fall, and Kyoshi is a walking "what if i'm not enough for people around me"


	7. The Jedi temple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Years after the chosen one is found, Kyoshi finds herself what does her life in the Temple means.

The destiny of the universe was intoned in unknown languages, soldier training and diplomatic agreements.

Those three ingredients characterized Yun's life for the next two years, added to Grandmaster Jianzhu's permanent testing environment. This man, honorable as he was irritable, had been determined not to excuse a single mistake in his path as the chosen one, even though those moments of slippage were so small compared with all the effort that the Padawan put into his work.

Deep down, both he and Kyoshi understood that the situation would never change, no matter how perfect Yun was. This was the path of the Jedi, marked by sacrifice and the constant risk of one day being gone if something went wrong. The constant seduction to death.

"Death is not bad, Kyoshi" indicated Jinpa, who by her arrival was the simple Padawan of Kelsang and now enjoyed a position as a Jedi Knight in the communications area, "It is the end of the life process. It’s the end of our story. Can you imagine how boring an eternal play would be?"

"I guess you’re right" she twisted her mouth, sewing the last patch onto Yun's robe. Yun, her friend, the one who found out about her arrival at the Temple months later, on a break from his intensive training.

Now, two years later, there was no trace of that Yun. Gone are the days of him playing Pai-Sho until sunset or his explosion of emotions. In his eyes there was no longer the intensity of a dream, but his latent and direct disposition to his destiny as Jedi, as savior of the universe: now he is a great man in the making, who knows exactly what he wants and is not afraid to ask for it, who he handles his emotions like someone who opens and closes a hand.

“I’m always right, Kyo”

Before she could say something, Jinpa heard the bell ringing from the cafeteria area, drawing the attention of those who must have been at their workstations. 

"I guess it's time to go." he stood up, the cape on top of his head falling off revealing his shaved head although there were no tattoos, "If you see Master Kelsang tell him that he owes me a game of Pai-Sho. Good luck with the rest of the day."

"I'll tell him" Kyoshi replied, too late to reach the ears of who she considered to be her brother. The one who accepted her the most in that place. 

It had not been easy to adjust to temple life. 

It was a busy scene, with everyone walking around giving and receiving instructions that moved the planets like dominoes. Seeing people be so active and then herself just wandering the hallways made her consider that maybe she didn't fit in, although it was something Kelsang had already contemplated when he returned with the big news almost two years ago. 

"Well, officially," on top of the kitchen he placed the papers confirming her freed from the shackles of a rotten system, "You are a free child, Kyoshi"

She took the papers in disbelief, her name spelled out in a hasty and forced manner, as if someone were doing it against her will. However that didn't matter because she was completely shocked by the news. The man had paid a sum that would have taken Kyoshi three working lives.

The ex-slave opened and closed her mouth, air escaping from her lungs, "I-I don't. I don't know- I don't know how" She looked up to meet his gray eyes, "I don't know how to pay you"

"You don't have to" Kelsang waved his hand in the air, "Please don't ever think you owe me anything"

Kyoshi nodded, pursing her lips as her anxiety began to tear her happiness apart. 

"What is the problem?" the Jedi Master frowned, "Did I exceed my actions?"

"No, no" she sighed, now avoiding her gaze. Great, now she would be seen as ungrateful by the man who had freed her, "It's just that now I don't know what I'll do"

"What do you mean?"

She ran her tongue over her lips nervously, "Well, all I know how to do is work the land. But I doubt they'll hire me because they refuse to pay a fair wage, that's why they prefer slaves."

"Because they have no way to raise their voices" Kelsang growled, more to himself than to someone else. It was his helplessness coming out of him through his pores, the awareness of his own limitations. Without even giving his thought any more rope, he said, "Then you can come with me to the Temple."

Almost immediately, Kyoshi shook her head, overwhelmed by the grandeur of that proposal. What did she have to offer in a place like this, so powerful, so untouchable for a mere mortal?

"Please consider my offer, Kyoshi" He looked at her with the most pleading eyes he found. He wasn't trying to manipulate her, that was something Kyoshi would feel. Instead, those were eyes of immense concern, "You can go and see how it feels to you, you could have your own room and the freedom you want. You could even work with me, with Rangi or with Yun, I could pull a couple of strings to it"

How could an orphan, the daughter of a woman without honor and a man without a word, left on a planet a few years from disappearing, trust? How could someone like her accept an opportunity like that without feeling ashamed?

Kelsang took a deep breath, his gaze dropping.

"Look, you don't have to stay if you don't want to. You don't even have to go if you don't want to. I can see how to find another way of life for you. I promise"

The answer was clear: with a man like Kelsang. A man full of patience, affection not shown, energy and wisdom. He saw in her what no one saw and that she still did not understand, he knew how to treat her and assured her that whatever decision she made would be the right one if she felt it as such.

That was Kelsang, the man who saved the life of an ordinary girl for the simple fact that she needed someone. Who saw big and full of life things in small and inhospitable places, the person who took Kyoshi as his daughter for the next few years and made her stay in that temple much more enjoyable.

"Wow, that must have hurt"

The murmur in the room pulled her out of her thought, out of her memory of her past. Instead, it brought her to get up from her chair and come over to see what it was that made people so amazed. 

"Do you think he's going to beat her?" she heard the voices clearer as she approached the balcony with Yun's robe in her hands.

"Noooo, of course not. How do you think he could do it?"

Kyoshi frowned at those words, as they rarely had a duel so unbalanced as not to bet on the other person. 

It was when she was able to watch the show that she understood. 

Since Yun's arrival, his name had been permanently tied not only to Grandmaster Jianzhu, but also to Rangi—Sorry,  _ Commander Rangi _ —, Where Yun went, the commander went, after all she was his personal protector.

Although now she seemed the opposite.

"Well, it could be worse" teased a boy with his group of friends, loud enough for Kyoshi to hear, "The commander could be having a bad day"

She twisted her mouth at the latter, not wanting to imagine that. The situation was already difficult enough to Yun, who was moving in the most attacking and defined way that he could, trying to get out of that duel alive. No one could deny that his technique was practically perfect.

Rangi was just better.

Kyoshi always wanted to imagine that the girl would have some smirk or even an arrogant expression under her helmet, the same one that she hadn't taken out in front of anyone for the past two years. 

Being the Jedi Knight a faithful believer in honor, Kyoshi couldn't think how she wouldn't feel superior for defeating in such a natural way someone who everyone saw as the theoretically highest ranking person in the Temple. Or the universe.

"Ow'' she glanced away quickly to avoid the scene. In totally fluid but confident movements, Rangi had drawn the Padawan into her position and taking advantage of Yun's explosive attack, had struck him in the chest with the back of her lightsaber. Had Rangi wished for the lightsaber to be the other way around, no one would not have heard from Yun anymore.

However, that was not the end of the fight. That came seconds later when Yun tempted his luck, underestimated Rangi's mercy and in a couple of movements he was on the floor face down, Rangi holding both her and his lightsaber inches away from his body. 

"Well, it was to be expected" one of those present in the room said and the others nodded. It was not a mockery towards Yun, they were aware that he could finish them in minutes, instead it was respect towards Rangi. She could kill them in seconds.

Kyoshi didn't know for sure the words Yun and his bodyguard exchanged when she helped him up, but it was clear that there were no bad feelings between them. There never were, even when Rangi said snappy things. 

Actually, on second thought, she too must have been grateful that she found Rangi. Even if they had not exchanged words since Kyoshi's arrival at the temple, or if each time the two were close, the commander lowered her head and avoided a conversation, no matter how futile it was.

"Hey, hey, miss" someone took her by the shoulders as she was leaving the cafeteria, "Where do you think you are going?"

She smiled turning around, "Hey, how are you?"

Kelsang straightened, his hands now on his hips, in the most comfortable, urban position he found, "Well, a little tired. I’ve been working all day because things aren't easy at the Outer Rim. But anyways, what is that there?"

"Here?" she held up the cloth, "Yun's robe, he asked me to mend it"

Kelsang shook his head, "That boy. It's already the second in the month! If he's not careful with those robes, we're going to run out of fabric."

"Are you calling me fat?" a youthful voice rose behind Kyoshi. An unmistakable voice, "After everything I've done for you, Master Kelsang?"

The chosen one's assistant turned to find him smiling lopsidedly, the ends of his always so well-groomed hair now damp with sweat. Behind him, the girl who accompanies him wherever he goes.

"Young Padawan, Commander Rangi" Kelsang bows his head, "It was an impressive duel today"

Rangi mimics his movements while Yun lets out a little laugh, "Yes, I think the same too. Did you see that I was about to beat Rangi?"

"And what happened? A fly got in the way?" Kyoshi allowed herself to make fun of him in public. With any other Master she would have forbidden herself, but Kelsang never repressed her for anything.

"Yes, indeed" he did not leave his smile, turning to see Rangi for a moment before returning his gaze to Kelsang, "As we go, I can be a Knight by the end of the year."

"Wow, dreams really do exist," the airbender raised his eyebrows, suppressing a laugh. Being all alone he would have allowed it, but in public it was practically humiliating Yun, "Well, while you become a Knight you should feel lucky to be able to fight with Rangi. Not everyone has that opportunity, much less as a Padawan"

_ An opportunity that nobody got. _

That was Commander Rangi. Anyone in that temple would have spoken the same about her, whether or not she was present.

Surprisingly overqualified and ultra accomplished, she was the youngest Jedi Knight to have taken a position as Commander, to have become the chosen one bodyguard, and she had never lost a duel. Never.

It was a spectacle that everyone wanted to witness. Yes, Yun was one of the most powerful Jedi to be seen in generations. Of any generation, actually. He possessed an absolutely enviable skill as a pilot and as a warrior few could beat him.

But Rangi was just better.

"Please don't say too much that she is going to blush" Yun said to Kelsang, shaking his head, "Rangi has enough ego already, she doesn't need more"

Yes, that's Rangi, whose power she felt even outside of that thick armor, threatening to take everything in her path if that was what she desired. A pilot who, although she had bad moments, could escape from unimaginable situations. A warrior like no other.

It was almost a joke, but anyone knew that in the end, Rangi was not interested in that. Although if there were no other option she took duels seriously, she actually preferred not to fight. If she could be on land, she avoided ships. If she could not have to prove her superiority to anyone, she preferred to sit for hours reading or practicing for the simple fact that it was something that was born to her. It was her. 

"I really should be going to get a bath" Rangi notified, jerking her thumb behind her. It was almost cute to see her, as her fingers were the only part of her body that was not covered. The only part of her that didn't seem threatening.

Well, aside from her face, which Kyoshi hadn't seen since that day Yun found his fortune and she met Kelsang.

She hardly remembered her face anymore, now she could only dream of it. She had to lie down thinking about what it would be like to see those eyes whose color she did not remember.

She wondered if she would ever look back at the wounds their encounter caused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. I absolutely LOVE putting that Yun's going to save the universe, it's like putting the "Imperial March" on every time Darth Vader shows up. Also, I really like how it is from Kyoshi's point of view (her friend is going to save the universe !!!) Other characters would not look at him like that.
> 
> I really like reading your comments, please let me know what you think. If you want longer chapters or maybe shorter ones. 
> 
> BTW, I hope you noticed the reference to Hamilton that I made, I am not a fan of musicals but yesterday I saw it for the first time and now I know the whole soundtrack. (Spoiler: It's the song "Alexander Hamilton", because it reminds me of Kyoshi)


	8. The masking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the day ends, the golden trio–father, daughter, son–, find themselves discussing about what really means to be a jedi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter! A pretty much just for context–chapter.

From time to time she remembered her life in Yokoya.

Said that way it seemed to have happened decades ago, it seemed like she returned to a memory so fleeting that now it was practically vague and broken into pieces. She wouldn't have been surprised if it was.

While she recognized Aunt Mui's kindness for giving her a roof and a friend like Yun, she was more than grateful for the opportunity to turn her back on Yokoya and start over in a place where no one knew about her past. Well, apart from Yun, but he too seemed to have forgotten his.

She wouldn't change anything about her current situation, but from time to time she wondered if she would ever be next to Yun in the little house where Aunt Mui prepared stew and read poetry.

"You shouldn't think sad things" Kelsang raised his voice without taking his eyes off the report.

Kyoshi still didn't get used to that.

"Can you stop reading my mind, please?"

The Jedi master smiled at her innocence, "I've already told you that we don't read minds, we're just more sensitive to feeling emotions sometimes."

She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, all that feeling in the force blah blah" She crossed her arms, looking at Jinpa across the table reading cards. Sometimes he would assist Kelsang in his duties, "I'm just saying, shouldn't there be more privacy? Or more respect for my privacy?"

This time the airbender is taking it more seriously, turning to look at her, "Sorry, I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable, but I couldn't help but notice you like that."

"Okay" Kyoshi sighed, pursing her lips.

"If it bothers you", this time Jinpa interrupted, "You could try learning masking techniques"

"Jinpa!"

"What is that?" she tilted her head to the side.

The Jedi knight nervously moved his gaze between the two of them, as if trying to figure out what was so bad about the subject as for him to explain it to her. Finally, Kelsang closed his eyes and resigned himself.

"Okay, explain it to her"

The monk opened and closed his mouth, trying to find the right words, "I- eh- Well- Your feelings, Kyoshi, are felt in your body as much as in the force and the masking techniques were born from the need to basically hide in the force in the midst of the Jedi and Sith wars. it was developed by the Sith, but somehow it got into the Jedi sacred books"

"That's why we don't encourage that" Kelsang crossed his arms, taking on the biggest role of a concerned father Kyoshi had ever known, "There's no need to hide from the force"

"But from time to time it is convenient. Even Grandmaster Jianzhu uses those techniques, and I think Yun is learning them," Jinpa looked at his former master.

Such conversations weren't strange to Kyoshi. When Kelsang took her under her wing, Jinpa had been with him for over six years. They were two similar souls, and although they both felt practically the same responsibility towards her, they took their positions totally different on what she should know about the Jedi.

Kelsang wanted her to be free from the ideas of the order and Jinpa believed that they were obliged to tell the truth for her to decide. They both only wanted the best for her.

"And are they complicated? The techniques, I mean."

Jinpa thought about it for a moment biting his lower lip, "They shouldn't be complicated for you, because of your small presence in the force, but they were techniques designed by force-users  _ for _ force-users, there is no guarantee that it will work with you"

"Could I give it a try? Someday?" she turned her gaze to Kelsang, who just stared at the ceiling as if clearing his mind.

It was a difficult decision, Kyoshi knew, but in the end he nodded slowly before standing up, "Okay, we could do it. But for now, I have responsibilities to attend to."

The Master didn't wait for either of them to respond, leaving the room without even taking his own papers. In his way outside he left a silence that lasted a couple of minutes until Jinpa put his sheets on the table.

"He's afraid to teach you," he sighed.

Kyoshi lowered her head, "I know, I don't even understand why"

"It's not that he doesn't think you are capable. It's just that... he doesn't know how to handle this part. For him teaching this kind of thing is his job and he loves you like a daughter, not a student."

She blushes at the mention of paternity. She feels it as such, but the relaxed way in which Jinpa says it makes her feel like her whole life has really been with Kelsang. As if he had held her as a baby and she had touched his face to know if he was real.

"I am sure that soon he will want to teach you if that is your wish"

Kyoshi sighs, "It's horrible to feel like everyone knows what you think, don't you think?"

"It is one of the reasons why I chose not to be in combat, I was ashamed that my companions felt my fear or my anger"

She opens her eyes in amazement, "I thought those are not Jedi feelings"

"They are not. They are human feelings. Even if you feel them sometimes, the important thing is to learn to control them"

At the revelation of her almost-older brother, her tongue itches with a question that doesn't hold for long, "And how do you do when you miss your family? How do you control that?"

Jinpa frowns, "I don't have a family, Kyoshi. Well, not how you imagine it. In the Air Nomads you don't have a mom and dad, we believe it takes a village to raise a child" he looks at the table of dark wood for a moment, "Anyway, here in the Jedi Temple I was longer than in the Nomad Temples, so I don't have much to miss"

Kyoshi nods at the words that seem to be drawn from deep within the Jedi knight's soul.

"Don't you think it's unfair?" She raised her voice and Jinpa raised an eyebrow, "I mean, you were recruited as a child like everyone else, but what if you had been someone with a traditional family? Wouldn't it have been horrible to be taken away from your parents?"

The knight shrugged, "It's not as horrible as it sounds, I think. Sure parents cry sometimes and stuff, but the first lesson for the kids is that attachment is an obstacle to being a Jedi. That if they want to succeed in the Jedi way, they have to leave everything they know. You can’t have a family being a Jedi"

"If so, Kelsang couldn't be with me"

"The difference, Kyo, is that he is a Master. He already understands what life is like and that at some point you have to die, or make your own decisions. And even attachment is disapproved when you are a Master. Temptations are bigger than you think. It’s kind of a miracle Jianzhu thought you were worthy to stay and doesn’t say anything about you and Kelsang "

She bites her inner lip, thinking those words in detail until she is aware of it.

"And how did Master Hei-Ran come to have a daughter? If attachment is forbidden"

Jinpa stares into her eyes for a few seconds, again considering whether it is pertinent to share the information.

"Well, it's that... there was an incident in the Sei'naka clan" The knight bows his head, as if feeling pity, "The Sei'naka clan... It has been producing the best warriors for hundreds of centuries, but years ago the only blood descendant was Master Hei-Ran. Rangi's birth was something much greater than a desire for attachment, it was a necessity "

The young man sounded as if he had lived through those moments, but Jinpa was really still a child learning to walk by the time Rangi was born. Somehow though, with him being Kelsang's confidante for so many years, that sentiment made sense.

"And how could she have had her parents all the time and still not give in to attachment? She didn’t have to leave them"

Jinpa brushed his hand across the table, brushing away non-existent dust, "Rangi... she... had a different training. Dynamic. Unusual. But I guess you don't become the best soldier out of nowhere."

"How is that?"

The knight stroked the back of his head, looking almost uncomfortable, "It's all I know, really. She never studied with others at the academy. She didn't even build her lightsaber in a group like everyone else. She just came one day as the Jianzhu’s padawan and we all accepted it "

Kyoshi flicked her tongue nervously, her curiosity to know about Rangi always gnawing on the inside of her. Yun was not exactly the most eloquent person about his bodyguard, and the girl did not seem to relate to anyone else in the Temple. Everything about her was practically a mystery.

"And how are you so sure that she didn't give in to the attachment?"

This time, the guilt on Jinpa's face became more apparent. He couldn't even bear to look at her, "When she was a Padawan she lost her father"

Her stomach flipped. The knight nodded slowly, probably feeling her pity.

"I was the one who broke the news to her" Jinpa's jaw squared, "I expected her to cry, yell at me or even stab me with the lightsaber. No. She... If anything, losing her father just made her a better jedi "

The jedi's tone of voice ended up being so low that they couldn't help but cast a blanket of silence between them. Life was difficult, yes, that Kyoshi already knew. But knowing that Rangi was also having a hard time was even more heartbreaking for her. Even if she was the best soldier in existence, wouldn't there be days when she, like Kyoshi, would remember her dad? Wouldn't there be days when she would rather she hadn't been born?

"I suppose I have work to do" Jinpa sighed, picking up the sheets again, "In a few days we will have a meeting with the Chancellor in the Senate. I don't want to be behind on papers"

Neither of them kept pushing the conversation.

  
  
  
  
  
  



	9. The reception

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For Yun being the chosen one, training is not everything. Unfortunately, Kyoshi must accompany him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short chapter.

Between them there was a tense and palpable silence.

It didn't mean that their interactions were awkward, actually they both seemed more comfortable just exchanging a few simple and obligatory words like "good morning." Or well, it seemed to Kyoshi that this was how Rangi wanted to be treated, with distance.

So no, it wasn't uncomfortable. It was rather that between them there was always a sense of familiarity, as if both knew intimate secrets of the other that could not be said aloud. It was somewhat overwhelming, they didn't know where that feeling came from, and the tension was created because neither of them dared to ask.

But in all honesty, Kyoshi tried not to feel that this was bad. After all, it was the only part of Rangi that she felt for herself.

"I don't understand what takes him so long," the Jedi growled, her arms crossed at her chest, "He said he'd be ready in five minutes."

She shrugged slightly, "Well, you know how Yun is with his hair."

Rangi took a deep breath, still without turning her gaze from some lost point in the hall, "The day he goes bald I will be very happy."

Almost immediately, the Jedi glanced back at Kyoshi. She was horrified by what she had said, however innocent her comment was. She was making fun of the things that made Yun happy, something that he loved.

Kyoshi giggled.

"No, sorry, I-"

"It's okay, it's okay" she shook her head. In the middle of that she felt the girl release her tension a bit, "I hope so too, maybe he has to develop other ways of flirting and I don't have to stay an hour here every morning"

"Oh, the flirting" Rangi snorted, looking back at the lost spot in the room, allowing Kyoshi to pluck up the courage to look at her again. Her pose was still, perhaps too military, "How could I have forgotten about that?"

"Yeah" Kyoshi sighed as he felt the tension rise again, "It's not my favorite part of nights like this"

"Well, mine is" Yun's voice echoed down the hall, coming from just behind them. He had somehow opened the door and neither of them had heard him, letting him listen to their conversation.

They both turned, Rangi's expression blocked by his helmet and Kyoshi smirking at his choice of clothing, which was practically a miracle. He was wearing robes in Jianzhu's signature color, so it wasn't too hard to figure out that his stylist had been his master.

"You look good" Kyoshi said, her voice softer than when he was talking to Rangi.

Yun grinned from ear to ear, seeing himself, "You too, ladies. If I could, I would ask you out."

"Yun, no flattery will make me forgive you for wasting time" Rangi shook her head, closing the door to the boy's room to force them to start walking, "How do you explain to the chancellor that you are late for wanting to flirt? Even when you aren’t allowed a girlfriend?"

"Hey, hey, stop attacking me. Maybe it would be good for you to learn." The boy gave her a little pat on the back, his hand colliding with the beskar of Rangi's armor. If it hurt him, he didn't make it noticeable on his face, instead he said, "Rang, don't you get bored of wearing that armor all the time? You don't have to be constantly at war."

Those words were almost ironic in those turbulent times, but Kyoshi didn't know if Yun meant it or was joking. As with everything.

"I'm not partying, Yun" Rangi clenched her fists, "I have a job to do"

"Work this, work that" Yun rolled his eyes and head, taking advantage of the moment to put his arm behind Kyoshi's back, joining their bodies to the side, "Rangi, as your chosen one and your friend, I command you to enjoy tonight with me and Kyoshi "

The Jedi Knight, who was walking a few meters ahead, turned her head towards them and looked back to the front as soon as possible. Kyoshi was a bit disappointed, like so many times, for not being able to see the girl's reaction. She wondered if under that black helmet with a net inlay, Rangi felt the same happiness of her for moments like this, when the three of them were together. 

Or, well, she was also curious if she liked the political events that the three of them were forced to attend.

"Oh, good to see you Mr. Otara" Yun bowed a little to show respect to the senator. It was comical to see the change from him to such a well-mannered person, "From what I've read, trade on your planet is growing exponentially."

The older man, now with a gray beard and droopy eyes, smirked, "Oh yeah, it's a…"

Kyoshi, who was listening at a safe distance, disconnected from the conversation as soon as the man opened his mouth. She was not interested in political things, although Yun seemed to come out naturally, as natural as Jianzhu.

Ah, _ Jianzhu. _

He was an intergalactic symbol, one of the most respected and admired Jedi in hundreds and hundreds of years, just behind Yangchen. Everyone adored him, everyone owed him a favor of life for saving him at some point, everyone trusted him. Everyone thought that there could be no evil in a being who, in the midst of the collapse of faith, took the reins of the Jedi and brought them to his most important point, his key point.

"It seems like you're thinking a lot." Kelsang appeared behind her, holding two non-alcoholic drinks. He was wearing his traditional robes, the same ones that involve a bare chest, "Do you want a drink?"

Kyoshi waved her hand in the air, “No thanks, I'm fine. You know that diplomacy is not exactly my thing"

“Yeah, sometimes it's hard not wanting to fall asleep while they're talking to you. But look on the bright side, if Yun is busy talking you have no need to attend to”, he handed her one of the glasses,“You could go and talk to Jinpa ”

She and Kelsang looked over to where the Knight was talking to other people. He was wearing the same outfit as his Master and was apparently manipulating a small vortex of air between his hands.

"Or with Rangi" Kelsang pointed the glass at the other knight, who this time was standing at the foot of her mother, Hei-Ran. 

To be honest, she had never had the opportunity to go one step further than a "Hello" with the Jedi Master. Not because she hadn't wanted to, but because they were never given the opportunity, nor was there a need. 

At least her Master hardly wore her helmet and let Kyoshi compare it to the vague memory of her daughter's face.

"No" she took a sip, "Okay, it's still my job to be here."

"But-" the man's voice died as he saw Jianzhu and Yun approach the place where the chancellor was sitting in front of a marble table. He sighed, "Let's go"

Possibly in the minds of the children of the galaxy that was a dream come true. Practically all the people of universal power gathered together, master and apprentice shoulder-to-shoulder, with their lightsabers on the sides of their clothes, greeting the man whose word kept the world at peace.

"Ah, Master Kelsang" Jianzhu smiled upon seeing them, nodding effusively as if to mimic a bow. He looked back at the man in golden years, "Chancellor Beifong and I were just talking about your impact on Padawan Yun studies."

All the time she had spent with Kelsang had helped her learn about him, how she hated sunflower seeds, his favorite attack moves, the things that made him laugh… the things he pretended.

"Yes, yes, Master Kelsang" the man, whose hand was adorned with rings, stated in a low voice, "I must admit that for an Air Nomad you are quite active in... these matters that are not of concern to monks."

Ah, always playing to burn without approaching the fire.

That was the Chancellor, Chancellor Lu Biefong, always playing the side that suited him.

Once a prominent Jedi Master, he had said goodbye to his days as a peace chief, to inherit the family business with pride and to pursue a life in politics.

It was also another case of irony.

Having once rejected possessions as a Jedi, he was now one of the richest men in the galaxy, and also one of the most powerful. He had tried everything: from being a representative to being a senator and now, he was showing his gallantry as supreme chancellor.

But, even with money and ambition, what had really given him power was his union with Jianzhu. There were rumors that he had taught Jianzhu everything he knew, even without being in the Jedi order. They were just rumors anyway. 

What was true was that the stability of the universe was born from that closeness.They existed for each other. If Jianzhu were to disappear, so would Beifong's reign. If Beifong was to give up, so did the credibility of the Jedi.

"And who is the girl?" the man asked, pointing at her with an open palm.

"Oh, have you noticed Kyoshi" Yun smiled without showing his teeth, his cheeks rising slightly into his eyes, "She is my personal assistant"

Lu Beifong did not appear to be amazed at those words, and instead took advantage of the orchestra's song change to, "Well, Yun, then I guess it's time for you to invite a beautiful lady to dance."

"That's right, Mr. Chancellor," he nodded, his hands clasped behind his back.

Yun turned for a moment to see the space that separated one wall from the other, watching the dance pairs begin to form. He flitted his eyes around the room until he looked back at Kyoshi. Kyoshi, who was always there for Yun.

"Can you offer me this dance?" he asked him in the sweetest voice he ever found, "I promise I've been practicing."

At that moment Kyoshi cursed the universe for not being charitable to her and not giving her the opportunity to wear a helmet like Rangi, a helmet in which her flushed cheeks could not be seen.

"Yes Yes"

It wasn't that bad, actually. They were just two friends following a manual of steps facing each other, being observed by people with whom in their lives they were going to share words. The best Jedi, the most important politicians.

"I thought you were going to invite the senator's daughter"

Yun raised an eyebrow, taking a step back as the dance indicated.

“Come on, don't do it. I saw you talking very happy with her "

This time, Yun seemed to know that he couldn't deny it anymore, and he only let himself into a light laugh. Holding him so close, Kyoshi felt the vibrations of the action.

"Well, I could do it" Yun shrugged, "But I also wanted to dance with you."

Kyoshi paused for a moment, looking directly into his jade eyes, "Oh that's so-"

"Romantic, I know" the chosen one interrupted her, "It's my talent"

She could possibly say something, hit him back, if she was in her normal state. And her normal state was not to be enchanted by the Yun who revered himself before people, the Yun who could make you lose all your money and you would still be grateful.

Such was the trance that Kyoshi wondered if, of all the people in the world, it was wise for her to kiss him right there. In the middle of the dance floor. In the middle of a war.

She knew Yun wondered the same thing.

They both pulled away at the same time.

  
  
  
  
  



	10. The holopuck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some meetings are weirder than others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For information, a holopuck is a small holographic device utilized to identify people. It counts with the face of the person and the information the creator finds important (like name, crimes).

“She’s coming” one of the Jedi quickly said to his partner.

Kyoshi turned her gaze to the door.

The fantasy stories in Yokoya always talked about the existence of immense creatures, whose steps were so heavy that they made the ground rumble as they passed, creatures whose presence was felt even miles away, beings so impossible to ignore once they were in front of you. 

Until that moment, she thought they were referring to mystical creatures. Never thought it was about Rangi. 

"Kyoshi" the Jedi Knight's voice invaded every corner of the room, making her tremble.

Rangi wasn't exactly a giant, but her presence felt like one, especially on days like these, where her steps were heavy and she carried with her a strange aura that no one could decipher.

"Miss Rangi" she lowered her head, following the rules of public respect. Of everyone in that part of the library, she was the only worker, "I didn't know you arrived."

"We didn't have time to tell you" Rangi looked around, meeting glances with people she didn't have the most perfect relationship with, "What are you doing here?"

Kyoshi swayed slightly, "I was helping them to-"

"You don't have to. You are not a servant, they can do it themselves" Rangi did not look at her, but at the group of men Kyoshi was helping to organize. Her eyes were not seen through her helmet, but her criticism of them was obvious.

She hesitated for a moment, but took advantage of the tension of the moment to put the books on the table and get closer to Rangi.

"It's okay, I just want to feel useful," Kyoshi said, smiling to calm things down. She knew it worked when Rangi moved her head to the side, avoiding both her and the others.

With just a couple of steps separating them, detailing Rangi was much easier. her beskar armor, always so sharp and elegant, appeared to be slightly scratched in places.

No.

She let out a breath when she realized what it really was.

"Blood," Kyoshi said immediately, leaving no room to think about her words. She felt stupid as soon as she heard herself.

This time Rangi did look at her, but her aura seemed to have frozen. In front of Kyoshi, she felt like one more commander around the Temple, "Yun sent me to call you"

Kyoshi nodded, cutting off the armor issue, "Where is he?"

Unemotionally, Rangi turned around, "Follow me"

She listened to her, walking behind the Jedi through the corridors of the Temple while feeling like an impostor as she saw the corridors filled with statues and paintings of Jedi that made history proud. In itself, on a day-to-day basis, she already felt strange living in the same place where hundreds of Jedi slept and where most of the employees, except for her and a few essentials, had no place. All of that was too much for her.

"Jedi Knight Rangi" the girl said to the Temple guards who were guarding the entrance to the area where they were going, "And Kyoshi"

"Unauthorized persons are not allowed in" the guard blocked the door with his yellow lightsaber.

Rangi crossed her arms, "As long as Padawan Yun is there, it is my duty to accompany him. Unless the grandmaster says otherwise."

"Not you. Her," the man nodded towards Kyoshi.

She didn't have time to react to her first instinct, which was to apologize and back off, because Rangi stepped forward to threaten the guard.

"You don't know who Kyoshi is?" her voice thundered down the empty hallway, rising in disbelief, "Kyoshi? The one who kept me alive? The one who welcomed Grandmaster himself into her home? Master Kelsang's guest? Padawan Yun's personal assistant?"

The guards looked at each other for a moment until one of them shook his head, "The grandmaster said you and Padawan Yun were coming in, not her."

Her face burning, Kyoshi tried to retreat a second time, but was again interrupted.

Rangi nodded several times, "Okay, I understand. Then I will have to find the grandmaster and tell him that you are interrupting the needs of the chosen one because... you don’t feel that his assistant need to assist him" the Jedi turns around, taking Kyoshi by the arm, "I'm sure he'll be happy to be annoyed about these trifles"

They kept walking for a few seconds, well, actually Rangi kept dragging her for a few seconds before one of the men called the Jedi knight's name.

"Tell me?" there was not a trace of satisfaction in Rangi's voice, it was the same voice with which she dealt with serious matters.

"We assume it is a matter of miscommunication" the guard locks the door, turning to the side, "We will make sure it does not happen again."

Rangi nods, but doesn't let go. The touch of the Jedi on her is soft, and Kyoshi wonders if Rangi is realizing what she's doing. It seems not, because they walk like that until they find themselves inside an office.

There, sitting on the green carpet on the floor, Yun is surrounded by what appears to be a hundred  _ holopucks. _

"Ah! You got her, I thought you were never going to do it" the boy raised his hands in excitement.

Rangi released her, "I don't know what you need Kyoshi for, you have a lot to do."

Yun waved his hand in the air, dismissing the matter and instead asking, "How are you, Kyoshi?"

"Good" she shrugged, "It was a long day"

The Padawan nodded with a smile, even under Rangi's threatening presence. Had she not known that there was no one more dedicated to the Chosen than the Jedi Knight, Kyoshi would have feared for the life of her friend.

Yun turned his gaze to Rangi, with the same bright eyes that triggered Kyoshi's desire to live, "Well, Rangi, I don't know how to thank you for today. But I guess it's time for you to go to sleep."

Rangi looked at her and then at him, "I have no problem staying"

Yun leaned on one hand, "Rangi, there is no need. There is no safer place than here and... I have things to discuss with Kyoshi."

The Jedi knight clenched a fist, but she nodded confidently. She just looked at him, "Fine"

Rangi's loud and rumbling footsteps disappeared slowly, ending with the thunder of the heavy metal door closing, leaving the two of them alone.

"Things to discuss?" Kyoshi scoffed, walking over to her friend and sitting on the carpet next to him, trying not to step on the devices on the floor.

Up close he looked tired, the dark circles under his eyes revealing how little sleep he had been getting lately, "You didn't sleep last night."

He shook his head, leaning back on Kyoshi's legs. In that position his hair spread everywhere, leaving his face free, "Do you know how many years Yangchen lived? I tell you, many. And apparently she wanted to document every detail of her political decisions."

Kyoshi laughed, stroking the edges of Yun's face gently, "Is the grandmaster making you read that?"

"No, but I know that it will impress him" he closed his eyes, letting himself be carried away by the touch, "I spent the night reading and the whole day I was with him on a planet ... that shouldn't even be called a planet. I tell you, Kyoshi, there are places more horrible than Yokoya. "

She didn't think it was true because, after all, the Yokoya that Yun had experienced was not the same Yokoya that she witnessed.

"And what are you doing here?" She glanced at the room, the shelves full of neat-looking books, the paintings that were more prestigious than all the beskar in the world, “Where even are we” 

"It's Jianzhu's office" he sighed, "Do you see those holopucks? Those are information we got today from people of the rebellion."

Kyoshi frowned, activating one of the devices. In front of her, a hologram of a bearded man appeared, "I thought the rebellion was super low-key. Leaving your faces in holograms isn’t exactly low-key"

"Actually, yes. They are. Until today we haven't really known who's leading it” Yun shook his head a bit, seeking to better accommodate himself, “But we found one of their headquarters, and all they had was these holographic cards with information on the Daofei. I guess we share a common enemy”

By reading more of the holographic information of the bearded man, she was able to discover his name, his birthplace, his most important crimes and the last time he was seen. She turned off the device, feeling like she was reading something forbidden.

In their hands the holopuck felt so insignificant that no one would ever imagine that they were dealing with the information of a dealer.

"And what are you supposed to do with this?"

Yun growled, opening his eyes, "I'm supposed to organize them by their modus operandi. Jianzhu thinks that to be a better Jedi I must know my enemies."

Kyoshi looked at the small piles of holopucks Yun had on his side. He had worked, yes, but he was far from done.

"You should keep working instead of lying here."

This time Yun looked into her eyes from his position. He was tired and had surely seen horrible things in his day, but that did not spoil his puppyish eyes.

"I was thinking that... maybe you could help me"

Kyoshi frowned, "You were assigned the task."

"But understand a poor and tired man" Yun pouted, "I can get hours of sleep if you help me"

Sometimes she hated that Yun had that ability to convince everyone. Actually, she sometimes envied him. The world seemed so easy if you could persuade people with a simple look, or such easy words.

Kyoshi rolled her eyes, "Fine, I will."

"Yes!" he jumped up and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "I knew I could count on you"

"Yes, yes" she shook her head, watching him get up to go to the giant chair where surely Jianzhu sat for private world-moving conversations. A perfect place for a teenager to take his nap. 

She sighed, beginning her duty, which was much easier than she thought it would be.

There, in a simple hologram, those people seemed fictitious. Kyoshi doubted in her life to come across any of those pixels, whose crimes could range from simple robberies to terrorizing entire planets.

For the most part she felt nothing as she grouped those tiles, at least not until she encountered a face she never thought she would see again in her life.

Immediately noticing that blue tattoo on top of her forehead, the air escaped from Kyoshi. Her heart threatened to explode inside her and all the other organs wanted to follow it.

"Mom" she breathed again, her body getting weaker with each passing second. No, it couldn't be her. No, she couldn't appear after so many years and… not like that. No, her mother wouldn't be so cruel.

Except, she could. She had proved it.

Only Jesa of the Eastern Air Temple would appear in front of her daughter, the same girl that she had left on a strange planet to her fate, like this. 

That face, so similar to hers, the same face she had cursed for so many years, the one that appeared in all of her nightmares, the face that Kyoshi struggled to forget, to burn from her memory. Circling in front of her. Only for her, of all the people in the universe.

The face of her mother.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have you seen Attack On Titan? What a great anime. Has me crying since sunday.


End file.
